Castle Carnation
by addtheletters
Summary: Kayaba's dream was altered, polluted due to events beyond his control. It's not how he envisioned it, but Aincrad is complete. His game is complete. Will the players of this game survive a twisted journey of flowers, blood, and guns?
1. Incarnation

~Chapter 1~

The sun shines, its sunset rays streaking brilliantly over flowing hills and sparkling lakes.

It peeks between the disks of the floor and sky.

For it does not shine upon a spherical Earth. No. This is «Aincrad»: a massive floating castle of steel and stone. Its base diameter, ten kilometers. Its height, twenty kilometers. Its bulk, stratified into a hundred levels, each a hundred meters thick, with a hundred meters of space in between them.

Each floor is a country, a landscape, complete with towns and cities. Together, Aincrad is not merely a castle. It is a world.

It is not, however, the world its creator wanted it to be.

Kayaba Akihiko is now a household name. He is best known as the genius inventor of the «NerveGear» and its key «FullDive» capability. By catching nerve impulses sent to and from the brain, the NerveGear could transplant its user into a fully interactive 3D virtual world. You could kick a stone, feel its weight as you hit it, hear the solid *clunk* your boot made, shout in joy, and then chase it as it rolled down a hill. You run, jump, fly in another world, while your body remained unmoving, with a plain helmet on its head.

The intense research that produced FullDive technology revolutionized the field of neurobiology. The introduction of the NerveGear itself and its APIs revolutionized much more.

Almost immediately, there was intense demand for the creation of a game. Not one of the simple technology demos that had been pieced together to showcase FullDive, but a true game, a massive game. An MMO.

Unexpectedly, Kayaba shortly announced that this had been his plan all along. Within a week, he had founded the game development firm «Argus», and set to work crafting a masterpiece. In a press release, Kayaba gave it a name: «SAO: Sword Art Online».

But SAO was never finished. This was because, six months into its development, its spiritual father, Kayaba Akihiko, was murdered. A robber had entered his house, panicked, and fired a shot into his gut.

It is rumored that Kayaba died with a NerveGear on his head, immersed in a FullDive, pouring his heart and soul into the creation of SAO even as blood leaked from the wound in his chest.

Fortunately for the gaming community, Argus did not abandon what they had built. What Kayaba had accomplished in six months was extraordinary. An intelligent system named «Cardinal», designed to oversee the virtual world and automatically generate events, to lessen the load on human administrators. Also complete was the incredibly high-fidelity modeling of most of the world's flora and terrain features.

Argus was restructured. Its new management was dubious of the initial premise of Sword Art Online. The game disappeared from the media radar for an entire year. Finally, in 2022, Argus revealed what, in Kayaba's absence, they had toiled to create. Aincrad was complete. The game's closed beta, accepting just 1000 players, would begin in August and last until the official launch in September.

Kayaba Akihiko imagined Aincrad as a land of legend. He imagined calm winds rushing over fields of green grass. He imagined mystical creatures roaming shrouded forests. He imagined a world, brighter in every way than our own.

He imagined a world called «Sword Art Online», in which a single blade could take you as far as you wanted to go.

This game, however, is not called Sword Art Online.

This game is named «Castle Carnation».

Though it is staged on Aincrad, it is but a second iteration. An unfinished dream, completed by another. Completed incorrectly.

Players do not begin the game with a simple sword in their inventories. Rather, they start with a handgun, modeled after the real-world «Glock 19».

The «Starting City», in which all players will begin their adventure, is not rustic. Its streets are not paved with hand-chipped stone slabs. The largest buildings do not resonate with the architecture of Venice, or Ancient Greece or Rome. Instead, the streets are rolled with asphalt. The buildings are of glass and steel.

The man, Kayaba Akihiko, died. But unbeknownst to Argus and to the world, Kayaba is not gone. He is far from gone. His world is not exactly as he envisioned it, but it is his. And he will ensure that his game is played correctly...

**Welcome**

**to**

**Castle**

**Carnation**

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own SAO.


	2. Divide

Author's Note: This is a revised version. The original version of this chapter was decent, but revealed more than I had intended. There have been a significant changes in the later portions, which may warrant a re-read of this chapter. Now, I proudly present to you...

* * *

**Castle Carnation**

~Chapter 2~

«CC» New Player Quick-start Guide: The Operation of Weapons

Exper**i**enced pl**a**yers, real life gun operators, and those who would rather learn through experience **m**ay s**k**ip this section.

Guns require **a**mmunition. Certain guns fire certain t**y**pes of **a**mmunition. **B**e **a**ware that d**i**fferent **am**muni**t**ion may **h**av**e** different effects when fired.

Most guns fire **c**artridges. Cartridges c**on**sist of a casing, con**t**aining the gunpowde**r**, and the actual bullet / pr**o**jecti**l**e that is fired. Some guns may require that cartridges be **l**oad**e**d individually, but a majo**ri**ty will use m**a**gazines, which will hold a**m**muni**t**ion and feed it into a weapon. 'Round' is a generic term meaning one s**h**ot's worth of ammunition. 'Sh**e**ll' can mean either a large, often explosive projectile in flight, or ammunition for shotguns. The words 'ammunition', 'bullet', 'ca**r**tridge', 'shell', and 'round' t**e**chnically refer to different thing**s**, bu**t** they may **o**ften be used inte**r**chang**e**ably.

**R**emember, guns **ca**n have a «safety», a switch that must be **r**elease**d** to allow the gun to be f**i**red. **N**o sp**a**mmed messages to GMs comp**l**a**i**ning that weapon**s** aren't working, please!

«Cha**m**ber» refers to a weapon's firing chamber, the area behind the barrel where a cartridge is ignited. A bullet can onl**y** be fired properly if it i**s** in the chamber, and the chamber **w**ill usually h**o**ld only one cart**r**i**d**ge at a **t**ime.

A gun's «action» determines **h**ow **i**t eject**s** used casings and chambers ne**w** cartridges. Semi-aut**o**matic and automatic weapons like the sta**r**ting «G**l**ock 19» use recoil force to chamber follow-up shots, drawing the rounds from magazines. «Slide» refers to the top section of a pistol that is pushe**d** back when it is fired. Pump and lever a**c**tion we**a**pons require ma**n**ual interaction to chamber round**s**. Excep**ti**ons, such as revo**l**vers, do exist.

As a gun is used, it wi**l**l incur durability damage. The rate at which a gun degrades can **be** minimized by «se**r**vicing» and «cleaning» the gun p**e**riodic**al**ly. **You**r level in the «gun servicing» skill affects this greatly. Note that guns, like most objects, can also take **d**urab**i**lity **d**amage through impacts.

«CC» features an auto-reload function. If **you** a**r**e in an acceptable stance and your weapon has no ammunition remaining, a white circle appears to the **b**ottom l**e**ft of your view. Tapping it will make the **s**ys**t**em au**t**omatically switc**h** m**a**gazines or insert **n**ew cartridges into your weapon. This process ta**k**es a few seconds and does not work from man**y** firing p**o**sitions, so yo**u** may find lear**n**ing t**o** reload **w**eapons **m**anuall**y** in your best interests.

Consult NPC ven**d**o**r**s or play**e**rs with high **A**ppraisal skill for detailed infor**m**at**i**on regarding all facet**s** of gun ope**r**ation.

W**e** hope th**a**t this info sheet was he**l**pful an**d** will continue to be helpful in you**r** journ**e**ys through C**a**stle Carnation.

**M**ay your fire be focused,

the «CC» development team

* * *

"Where?"

"Right there."

The player scratched his maroon-dyed hair. "Ey, you need to be more specific, man. I'm not seeing what you're seeing."

Kirito leaned in close to him, pointing at the spot with his left hand. "Over there. See that, between the two bushes?"

The two of them stood together amidst the knee-high grasses of the plains to the west of the «Starting City». Being so positioned, it was one of the easiest areas in the game, perfect for training up fresh characters. The telltale pops of distant gunshots sounded out frequently, evidence of numerous other players in the area. Kirito, having over a month of beta test experience under his belt, might have gone ahead to a more risky area by this point. However, his recently acquired acquaintance, by the handle of Klein, wasn't quite ready for that.

Klein squinted. "That... that little black bump? Is that an enemy?"

"Mmm," Kirito confirmed with a nod. "See if you can hit him."

"Wha?" Klein exclaimed. "I can barely see him..."

Kirito sighed. "You get a targeting reticule. It's not too difficult. Hurry up and take your gun out."

"If you say so," Klein mumbled, grabbing his starting weapon from its holster on his hip. "I haven't used a gun before in real life. What's the best way of doing this?"

"Well... a basic attack is very simple. You make sure the end is pointing at your target and pull the trigger. How you hold the gun is just personal preference, but the more stable your stance is, the smaller the system will make the bullet spread."

Klein spread his legs, gripped the gun with both hands, and looked down the sights. A thin green circle was projected unto Klein's view where the gun was pointed. He swung the gun about, watching as the circle followed his aim. Then, experimentally, he shifted his stance several times, watching as the circle expanded and contracted.

"So you can hold it any way you want, right? How do you usually do it?"

Kirito shrugged. "Well, there's still recoil, so you need to make sure you don't drop it, but yeah. Usually with a pistol I use a one-handed grip with a straight arm, like this." He demonstrated, drawing his own gun.

With a quick step, he pivoted so his chest faced Klein. His left arm hung loosely by his side, and he could look along his right shoulder to see his target. "It wasn't a very popular shooting stance in beta, but I guess I prefer it. Most people face the target and use both hands, like you're supposed to in real life. That way gives you more accuracy. Depends on how close the target is, though. For closer enemies, your stance can need to be more mobile."

"I think I get it," Klein said. "Let me try and hit this sucker..."

He squinted, lifted the gun with both hands so the circle hovered over the black lump that was his target, and tightened his finger around the trigger.

A metal pin swung forwards, striking the sensitive rear priming of the loaded cartridge. Dark black powder flared to life and flung forwards a pointed projectile, the curved grooves of the barrel forcing it into a tight stabilizing spin. The crack of the «Glock 19» reached Kirito's ears, and he saw a small puff of dirt rise where the bullet impacted, about a foot to the left of where Klein was aiming. Spent, the bullet's casing was ejected, popping out in a small arc unto the grassy ground, where in a few seconds its durability was depleted and it shattered into a puff of blue particles.

"Eh? I missed?"

His target now lifted its head to face him: a boar, with red eyes, dark hair, and sharp tusks.

"Don't worry. That was an unlikely shot to make anyways. As it gets closer, it'll be easier to hit!"

As if on cue, the boar grunted and charged at them. Klein's eyes widened, and he began to shoot. His first five shots were erratic, and none of them hit. Kirito quickly chimed in with advice. "Don't shoot so quickly! Look at your reticule, see how it expands after each shot? Stay steady; wait for it to shrink a little before shooting again."

Klein paused, and sure enough, his green aim circle tightened The boar was still a good ten meters away, but at last, the entirety of the circle was on the boar rather than around it. Klein fired a sixth time, and the shot connected, scraping the boar's belly and making it falter.

"Hah! Got him!"

"Nice," Kirito complemented. "But he still has most of his health left..."

"What?"

Klein now saw the curved health bar to the boar's side, still in the green at about ninety percent. The boar shook its head briefly before resuming its charge.

"Ahh!"

The boar reached him and butted its head, slamming its tusks into his chest with considerable force. The impact knocked him off of his feet, and he landed quite ungracefully on his back, with his health points decreased by nearly a fifth.

Before the boar could hurt him more (as funny as that would be) Kirito attracted its attention with a swift shot to its side. It turned and lunged towards him, but he dodged the attack with a sidestep.

"Right in the pancreas..." Klein groaned, clutching his chest.

"Oh, get up. You don't actually feel any pain when you take damage. Hurry up, I can't keep it occupied forever."

"Still feels like something hit me..."

Nevertheless, Klein clambered back to his feet, gripping his gun firmly. The boar continued to poke at Kirito, who kept it at bay with kicks and the occasional shot. "Hurry up, Klein. He's right in front of you, don't bother with the careful aim, just shoot him up. Hyah!" Kirito's booted foot connected firmly with the boar's snout, and it turned away from him, focusing back on Klein.

"Yaaaaa!" Klein shouted, rapidly pulling the trigger of his weapon. In less than two seconds, the nine remaining bullets in his magazine had been expended. The last shot popped the handgun's slide open.

Kirito watched the boar's health bar drop, satisfied at first, but then frowned as the health decrease slowed, stopping in the yellow zone with still a third remaining. "Jesus, Klein, you only hit him twice with all those shots? I said 'don't bother with _careful_ aim', not 'don't aim at all'..."

"You could have been more specific!" Klein said with a raised voice, somewhat panicked. He looked down at his gun, which had its slide locked open. "Uh, out of bullets, what do I-"

The boar hit him again, sending him cartwheeling back with an indignant yelp.

"Reload!" Kirito advised. "You should have spare magazines in your inventory, just find the release switch and swap them. Accessories can let you have magazines ready without going into your inventory screen, but we won't get those until a bit later."

Klein, sprawled on the floor, flailed out with his legs at the boar, trying with limited success to replicate Kirito's boar-repellent kicks. "Isn't there like an auto-reload thing I can just tap somewhere!?"he asked. The boar's clashes with his boots chipped away at his health points as he fumbled with the floating menu.

"Won't work unless you're on your feet," Kirito answered. "It's better to learn to reload manually, anyways. Auto-reload is pretty slow."

Klein found an item labeled «Glock magazine-9x19mm Standard-15/15». "I-is it... this?" He tapped its icon, and it coalesced in his hand with a cerulean glow. The simplicity of the boar's attack algorithm was plainly displayed, as it continued to be deterred by Klein's panicked flutter kicks. "Where's this button that drops the magazine out-ack!"

The boar knocked his legs aside with a sideways swing of its tusks and pounced unto his abdomen.

Kirito rolled his eyes and took aim with his own gun. If Klein died here, it'd be annoying having to run back to the city to retrieve him.

The sights of his «Glock 19» lined up perfectly with his right arm, shoulder, and eyes. As he looked down them, the green accuracy circle shrunk so that most of it was over the boar rather than Klein's struggling form.

Most of it. Not good enough. At this early level, he simply didn't have enough skill points to get highly accurate normal shooting.

Fortunately, there was an alternative.

Kirito squinted fiercely, focusing intently on the gun in his hand and the boar before him. He took a deep breath, and as he released it, felt the slight pull he was intimately familiar with. The «Glock 19» began to shine a faint orange. The green aiming circle disappeared completely, and with it, Kirito's doubt. With full confidence, Kirito pulled the trigger. The glow of his gun intensified, pulsing bright yellow as it fired.

Kirito would have sworn he could feel the action of the gun in his hands, the intricate metal pieces cycling in unison to eject the spent cartridge and load the next, as though it were an extension of his own body.

The bullet pierced into the boar's side, and its slightly angled trajectory took it all the way through. On a real animal, the shot would have impacted nearly every vital organ, being instantly fatal. Here, the system tried its best to emulate the same.

The mob's curved HP bar shrunk to red and then faded to nothing, and the boar itself disintegrated into shards of pixilated blue.

Kirito relaxed, and, as quickly as it had come, the glow around his gun faded, and the green aim circle reappeared.

* * *

iamkayabaiamthecontrolleriamtherestorercardinalismyswordthisworldcanstillberealyoudidyourbestthankyounowmydreamisrealdream

"Hey, Marc?"

"Yeah?"

"You having this problem? I can't seem to use the system commands properly."

"Hmm... let me trace the callback... it says you don't have permissions? Ohkawa, right? You're sure you're linked in correctly?"

"I swear it's not a permissions problem. We're still in dev mode, we should have level zero access to all functions of «Cardinal»."

"Dunno. Try sudo-ing with root? Maybe the command itself is bugged."

"Okay. This kind of problem should have come up during the beta test, shouldn't it? I didn't think we'd be dealing with a problem like this on launch day."

"Yeah, it should have. I'll run down to the server room, see if everything's good down there."

"You do that, Marc. You do that. Ugh, why isn't this working? I'm supposed to have root access..."

* * *

"Thanks... what was with that shot? Why'd your gun turn all glowy?"

"Before I explain that, I have to say, Klein, not too impressed with your shooting."

"What do you mean?" Klein pouted. "I thought I did pretty good."

"You hit, what, three shots out of fifteen? Maybe you'd be better off with a shotgun. Let's pick one up for you when we stop by town."

"Hey! He was charging at me, okay? I was nervous! And that green circle was still pretty big, even when I waited to shoot. Can't blame me for random numbers..."

Kirito decided not to mention the times he'd died to the very same boars in the early days of the beta test. "That boar though? He's a really basic enemy, like slimes in other games. It only gets harder from here."

"...Seriously? But that was difficult... I thought he was a mid-level boss at least..."

"You'll get better with practice, I'm sure. Now, I'll tell you about the mechanic I just used. Don't blame me if you can't get it to work right immediately, though. I didn't manage to do it until the fifth day of the beta test."

"No way. What's it called?"

* * *

"Oh, Marc, you're back. Figured out what's wrong?"

"No! This is ridiculous. Nothing seems broken, but all of our administrator accounts are locked out of «Cardinal». It might be a networking issue. Nishida dived in for testing, but I can't even send a message to him because of the privilege issue. He might not even know there's a problem."

"This isn't a super-large problem, is it? It's not urgent that we can't use admin commands. «Cardinal» is supposed to be almost completely automated anyways."

"I guess so. Makes me nervous, though. We've worked on this project for years, I didn't think that-"

"MARC! OHKAWA! Fucking _national police_ just called. Turn on the news, any channel. What the hell is going on?"

...

"They're... _dead_?"

"Jesus Christ..."

"This is a joke, right?"

"I god damn wish it were, Marc! Shut everything down. Setagaya, Mishima, Sorachi, every server!"

"Wait! The police said they died when the NerveGears were removed. There's nothing we programmed that could make a NerveGear kill someone. Maybe this isn't such a good ide-"

"We have to do something! Are we being hacked? Ohkawa, start figuring this out! I'm cutting the Tokai servers, at least. If nothing goes wrong we'll shut down the rest... Some Kikuoka guy from Internal Affairs is on the phone, someone answer him and get some information..."

* * *

"So... «_Focus Fire»_?" Klein carefully turned his brand-new «Remington Model 31» shotgun over, inspecting the polished walnut wood of the stock and pump handle.

Kirito nodded. "It sounds a bit silly, I know. Did you follow the project back in its early development, when they demoed the pre-alpha at E3 two years ago? Remember the «sword skills»?"

"I remember," Klein confirmed. "You took a stance, and the system assisted your movements. That's not what «Focus Fire» is, is it? That'd be ridiculous with guns."

"Yeah, it would," Kirito agreed. "It's not the same thing. Almost the opposite, actually. It's related though. I heard some people calling it a spiritual successor."

Kirito removed his gun from its holster. "How can I explain it? The stance is important, but it's not something you can do by just moving your muscles. You have to channel your willpower into the gun."

Klein laughed lightly at this. "That's the dumbest crap I've ever heard. Can the NerveGear even tell those kinds of things?"

"Mmm," Kirito answered. "It examines all neural impulses. The NerveGear has to detect a strong intention, a shift of the focus of your mind's eye into the weapon you're holding, for it to activate «Focus Fire»."

"Then your gun gets glowy, and you get a system assist?"

"Nope. Rather, you get a system _un_-assist."

Klein turned to him, confused. "That... doesn't make any sense."

"Instead of the calculations the engine normally does to determine the trajectory of the bullet, the ones that give you the green reticule, it makes the shot follow its «True Trajectory». Even more important, it makes the bullet impact do «True Physical Damage»."

"...«True Trajectory»? «True Physical Damage»? You've lost me there."

"Put simply, the bullet goes exactly where it's aimed. No random number generation choosing a spot in a circle. The engine looks at where your gun is pointing, the physical properties of the bullet, wind and air condition, and gravity. That's it. When it hits, the damage it does isn't calculated from the weapon stats. Instead, it becomes entirely physics-based; damage done is analogous to what would happen if the target was shot in real life.

"That boar, for instance. My shot went through where its vital organs were, so it died almost instantly. If I hit its brain, it would have died even faster. If I hit its leg, it probably wouldn't have killed it, but it might have given it a status effect disabling its leg.

"Another example: let's say you find a metal plate you want to get rid of. If you shot at it normally with a starting pistol, each shot would hurt the durability of the metal, as much as your personal and weapon stats determined. If you shot at it in «Focus Fire», the effect would be even less. The bullets would bounce off and do no durability damage whatsoever.

"If you brought some powerful weapon with armor-piercing ability, though, a single «Focus Fire» may destroy the metal completely, or do a large amount of durability damage and pass through, maybe hitting something on the other side."

Klein took a few moments to process this.

"What if... you used «Focus Fire» on another player?"

"If it's outside of safe zones, it'd have the effect you expect. A level-one player could, in theory, kill a level-one-hundred player in a single shot, if they weren't wearing good armor. When it's used, «Focus Fire» makes skill points irrelevant."

Klein was aghast. "That's... ridiculous! It's such a... shooter-y mechanic. They can't pollute an MMO with something like this..."

"Honesty, I think it's brilliant. In this genre, things often devolve into a brainless grind of numbers. This element keeps the game... _pure_. It changes the deciding factor from numbers to pure, real skill."

"I guess so..." Klein responded.

Kirito took a seat in the short grass. Out to the west, the sun, not visible for most of the day, was setting. Orange and red hues washed over the landscape. The normally dull-gray surface of the ceiling, the bottom of the next floor, looked colorful, even. The massive pillars along the rim of the world that held up the second floor stood like silent sentinels against the sun, their shadows cast across huge swaths of land. It was amazingly scenic, unbelievably beautiful for a make-believe world.

Klein set down his new shotgun and took a seat beside him. "It's brilliant, isn't it?"

"What is?"

Klein gestured grandiosely with both his arms. "All this! I still can't really believe it. We're inside the freaking game! You might be used to it, but this is my first «FullDive». I think we were really lucky, being born in this era. People would have _killed_ to get their hands on this technology a decade ago."

"Mmm."

"I was lucky to get one of the ten thousand first edition copies, too. You were ten times luckier, though, getting into the beta test... I hear they only let a thousand people in!"

"Huh. I guess you're right. Haven't really given that much thought."

Klein picked up his shotgun again, testing differing grips and watching his aiming reticule. "So... how far did you make it in the beta?"

Kirito pulled his pistol from its holster, and then swiped downwards with his right hand to open his menu. With a speed reflecting his experience, he navigated to the «Field Cleaning» option and tapped it, activating an easy quick-time-event sequence. A thin white progress bar appeared over his gun.

"Over a couple of months, only floor 8."

He lightly tapped a translucent white circle, and the progress bar decreased in length.

"This time though, it'll take just one month."

Klein watched him play the cleaning mini-game. "You're really into this, aren't you?"

A set of three circles appeared, and Kirito tapped each of them away. The progress bar was cut in half.

"In the beta... Castle Carnation became my life. It was all I thought about, day and night. It's a virtual world, but I feel more alive here than I do sometimes in the real one..."

Klein nodded thoughtfully. "That's pretty deep stuff..."

Five more white circles appeared. Kirito tapped them in a star pattern, earning a slight bonus to the effectiveness of the cleaning. The progress bar fully depleted, and the mini-game was over. He slipped the gun back into its holster.

"But I've got to log out for now. I ordered a pizza for 5:30, so I gotta eat it before it gets cold."

"Hah," Kirito said. "You were rather prepared, weren't you?"

"You bet," Klein boasted. "I'll be back once I've eaten."

He stood and flicked open his menu, but then thought of something. "Huh, why's that button grayed... Hey, Kirito, after this I'm meeting up with some friends of mine from another game. I could introduce you to them, and you could register them as friends. Then you could always send messages. How 'bout it?"

Kirito turned away slightly, scratching his head. "Uh... well..."

He wasn't really one for large groups. He'd ran without a party throughout all of the beta. Even in real life, there were only a few classmates of his that he considered friends, and even them he didn't know all that well.

But Klein was alright. He'd seemed rude and demanding at first, but he'd grown on Kirito. _Any friends he has are probably decent people_, Kirito thought.

"Alright," Kirito answered after a pause. "When do you think you'll-"

He turned back to face Klein, but Klein was no longer there. Where he'd been standing, there was only air, and a slight wind that unfolded the soft grasses where they'd sat.

"-be back?" Kirito finished softly. Had Klein already left? He guessed so.

"Sorry," Kirito mumbled, though what exactly he was sorry for, he wasn't sure.

* * *

"Breaker's been hit. Tokai datacenter is powerless. Any players routed through there should have been force-logged. Any news? Marc?"

"A few things, none of them good. Ten more confirmed deaths in the past twenty minutes..."

"Son of a... No verdict on the hacking, then?"

"It's our best guess, but there's no sign of intrusion. With this privilege de-escalation screwing up our administrator accounts, we can't pull detailed logs. In fact, we're locked out of almost all the «CC» data now."

"How? We have the physical servers, right?"

"They're custom servers, designed and built specifically to house and interface with «Cardinal». It's our own proprietary high-level operating system, with all user access linked to player accounts..."

"And this is a problem... why? If it's our own operating system..."

"None of the engineers here, myself included, had anything to do with the development of the current system. Kayaba was the main programmer for most of it, and he's not with us anymore. We tried extracting the logs, but, like I said, all data access is high-level. Everything's encrypted with a self-teaching top-down AI, the same one that handles game events. We wouldn't be able to hack in, not even in a hundred years. The only thing we've gotten out of it is hour-by-hour lists of online players and their locations. We didn't get those by pulling data, mind you: «Cardinal» is just exporting it out of the high-level partition for some reason."

"Okay, Marc... those files list online players, right? Get the five-o-clock list and the current list and compare them. Tokai was handling close to fifteen hundred players. If they got logged out safely..."

"Got it. Running a diff analysis... I've got about a thousand players reported to be in about the same location. None of them were standing in it when the five-o-clock list went out."

"Only a thousand? ... Five hundred players missing, then? They got moved within the game world?"

"That's right. That means, other than those five hundred, they're still connected to «Cardinal» somehow... «Cardinal» doesn't have some kind of protocol that shifts players to other hubs in case one shuts down, does it?"

"You're the server guy. Do you have bandwidth monitoring on the other nodes?"

"We should... Ohkawa, can you pull it up?"

"Okay, Marc, got it... Mishima's good... Sorachi's the same... Tokai's flat-lined, of course... Satagaya... yup... yup..."

"What's that node there? Niigata?"

"Oh god, you're right. There's not supposed to be a node in Niigata."

"Wait, really? We have a datacenter in Niigata, don't we?"

"That server was just prototype stuff we scrapped before final release. You know, the Alpha-Rho content? Management didn't like it. It's not supposed to be active! It's eating just enough bandwidth for a thousand players."

"So... «Cardinal» transferred them? Activated a dormant node and moved the players to it when it detected an eminent shutdown?"

"There were fifteen hundred on Tokai. Those five hundred, did they log out successfully?"

"Maybe «Cardinal» tried to transfer them but couldn't handle the sudden request influx? Tokai's power got cut pretty fast."

"This is nuts... If Kayaba were here, he'd know what to do..."

"Ohkawa! Marc!"

"What?"

"Updated information from Kikuoka. Hear this: fucking _four-hundred ninety seven_ deaths confirmed over the past five minutes."

"...Four... hundred... ninety?!"

"Those players... that «Cardinal» tried to transfer to Niigata but couldn't when the power was cut..."

"Shit."

* * *

Kirito blinked several times, reacquainting himself with his surroundings. He was quite obviously back in the «Starting City» - specifically, the large, round plaza where players first logged in. The glass archways that ringed the area were unique and easily recognizable.

After Klein's sudden disappearance, Kirito had gone back to hunting. He'd been at it for just a few minutes when, suddenly, the sound of a bell tolling filled his ears. A blue light—the teleport effect, which he recognized from his time in the beta—had appeared around him, and when it had faded, he'd found himself where he was now.

All around him were other players, just as confused as he was. Some seemed to know more than others.

"Ah, they're making an announcement."

"About this annoying bug? Finally. I'm about to be late for a meeting..."

Kirito frowned. If this was a mere bug-fix, there wouldn't be need for a forced teleport. There was something odd going on.

He took a step towards those he'd overheard. "Hey, guys... sorry to bother you. What's this bug you're talking about?"

One of them put his hands on his hips and opened his mouth to explain. Before he could, a flashing red icon lit up a portion of the sky above, switching between two states. [Warning], it read. [System Announcement]. After a few cycles it fixated to the [System Announcement] state, and then duplicated itself, again and again and again, covering the entire plaza with a dome of the red tiles.

The edges of the dome lined up perfectly with the intricate crystal arches, fitting together as if the area had been designed specifically for the purpose.

Then, from the seams between the tiles, a viscous, red fluid began to seep down. Numerous streams of liquid merged together, balling up, manifesting into a recognizable form: the lofty red robes of a GM, a Game Master. But this GM had no face, instead, just a black void.

"**Greetings, players,**" the figure said in a deep, booming voice. "**Welcome to my world.**"

"My world?" Kirito muttered.

"**You may have once known me as the man Kayaba Akihiko. At the moment, I am the sole entity that can control this world.**"

Players around him broke out in confused discussion.

"Kayaba?"

"Didn't he die?"

"Is it really him?"

"There's no way that's him, I saw the reports..."

_An imposter?_

The figure continued. "**As you may have noticed, the logout button is missing from the main menu.**"

Kirito quickly swiped downwards with his right hand, navigating to the spot he remembered. Where the log-out button had been in beta, there was now just an empty, unresponsive tile. _This was the bug? No one had been able to log out? Where had Klein gone off to, then?_

"**I assure you, players, that this is not a defect in the game. I will say that again. This is not a defect.**"

_Huh?_

"**This is a feature of this game, «Castle Carnation». You cannot log out of «CC» yourselves. And no one on the outside can shut down or remove the NerveGear. Should this be attempted, the NerveGear will emit a pulse of microwave radiation, destroying your brain and ending your life.**"

_What!?_

"Seriously, dude?"

"Okay, it was funny for a little bit, but that's enough. I'm leaving."

A pair of players tried walking through one of the crystal archways, but were repelled by some kind of invisible barrier.

"Hey! We can't get out!"

Did the NerveGear really have the power to kill? The more Kirito thought about it, the more possible it seemed. The transmitters used to interface with the brain were serious hardware. If the safeties were removed... And the NerveGear's internal battery meant cutting the power would be ineffective...

"**More specifically, the fulfillment of any of the following requirements will trigger the radiation pulse: removal of a power source for more than ten minutes, disconnection from the system servers for more than two hours, and any attempt to unlock, dismantle, or destroy the NerveGear. These conditions have been made known to the government and the general public. Unfortunately, the friends and family of several players have ignored this warning and attempted to remove the NerveGear. Additionally, Argus has attempted to log players out by disabling server banks, which proved unpredictable and ineffective. Regretfully, as a result, six hundred and twenty four players are gone forever, both from Aincrad and the real world.**"

Someone, somewhere in the plaza, released a shrill scream. Those immediately next to Kirito stood in various stages of shock and denial.

_...Gone?! More than six hundred, already dead?_

A sudden cold rushed over him.

_...is Klein one of them?_

Kirito pulled up his friends list to check on Klein's status, and was shocked to find it empty. Of Klein, there was no trace.

"**As you can see, news organizations across the world are reporting heavily on all of this, including the deaths. Thus, you can assume that the danger of a NerveGear being removed is now minimal. Momentarily, in a time period I have provided, all of you will be transported to hospitals or similar facilities so that your physical bodies can be given the best treatment possible. I hope that you will relax, and attempt to clear the game.**"

_Relax?! He expects us to relax, trapped in here forever, and just keep playing? _

"**But I ask you all to understand that this, «Castle Carnation», is no longer a simple game. It is... a second reality. This game no longer contains any method to revive players. If your HP reaches zero, your avatar will be gone forever. And, simultaneously...**"

Kirito felt every muscle in his body tighten slightly.

"**The NerveGear will destroy your brain.**"

_Player death is real death. But «Castle Carnation» is about death. Why would anyone risk death to play the game? This can't be real._

"**Players... there is only one means of escape: To complete the game. You are presently within «City Alpha», on the second-lowest level of Aincrad: Floor One. Make your way into the dungeon and defeat the floor boss, and you may advance to the next floor. Proceed upwards, across each floor, through each dungeon. Destroy the «Energy Nexus» on the final floor, Floor 101, and you will clear the game. All of you players who have survived to that point will then be logged out.**"

Over the gigantic figure's hand, a rotating 3-D figure appeared: a miniature «Aincrad». A thin red line traced through it, zigzagging through dungeons, running from the bottom of the model to the top, where it terminated at a pulsating red sphere.

"«Energy Nexus»!?" someone in the plaza shouted. "You... You're making that up!"

_All one-hundred floors. Beat the game. Could it be done?_

"**But be warned. Your task is two-fold. Just as there exists an «Energy Nexus» far above on Floor 101, there exists an opposing «Nexus»... on Floor Zero, directly below you. If, for any reason, **_**this**_** «Nexus», **_**YOUR**_** «Nexus», is destroyed... the HP of every one of your avatars will be reduced to zero. You will have lost. And consequently, you will have died.**"

_Our «Nexus»? We have to defend the «Nexus»? Against what?_

"**Finally, I leave you with a gift. It has been added to every player's item storage. Please see for yourselves.**"

Kirito briskly swiped open his menu, navigating to his inventory. Within, beside his spare magazines and miscellaneous beginning monster drops, he found a new item. It was labeled, plainly, «Mirror».

He tapped the button to convert it to an object, and it popped into his hand. Around him, other players did the same.

Without any warning, swirls of blue light erupted around him. His vision was completely obscured, and he felt disconnected from his body, just some errant soul floating in a mist of data.

When the blue faded, something felt off. He looked left and right, but saw much of the same around him. He looked up, and, indeed, the red hooded figure was still there. Then he looked down, into the mirror in his hand, and was shocked. The face looking back at him was not that of «Kirito the Adventurer», the hero for which he'd painstakingly toiled for hours to make just right. Instead, he stared into the delicate features of «Kirigaya Kazuto», 14 year old high schooler, with black hair, matching black eyes, and a thin facial structure that was less than completely masculine.

_I'm... me?_

_This... this is reality now?_

Someone overcame their shock. "What's the point of this?!" Others quickly joined in.

"Who do you think you are? You're not Kayaba, you idiot!"

"Explain yourself, you... you sick bastard!"

The figure either heard the cries or predicted what was on every player's mind. "**Why, you ask? Is this a terrorist attack? Is he doing this to ransom us? Why, you are wondering, and how? How could the deceased Kayaba Akihiko, developer of the NerveGear, do all this?**

"**The 'how' does not concern you. Just know that every word I have spoken here is the absolute truth. This is not a terrorist attack or a ransom attempt. This project began with the name of «SAO». «SAO» was my vision and my dream. «Castle Carnation» is not «SAO», but all the same, my goal has been achieved. The NerveGear and this game exist for one reason: I aspired to create this world, and watch over it. Now, everything has been realized."**

_Realized. He's done this because the existence of this world is the reward in itself. He's taken his game and made it real._

**"This ends the official tutorial for the Alpha division of «Castle Carnation». Players, I wish you luck."**

The figure decomposed, its red fluid sucked back though the [System Announcement] tiles into some unseen void. Once not a drop of red remained, the tiles themselves vanished in an instant. Orange rays of sunset washed over the crystal-ringed plaza once more.

But everything was changed.

_If... I die in the game... I'll die in real life..._

Kirito sprinted away from the plaza, as fast as he could. Behind him, he heard voices begin to shout.

"This is a joke, right? Right? Some kind of joke!?"

"Stop this! I get it, we're all scared, ha-ha, now let us log out!"

"No! You can't do this! This is impossible!"

"I have to get to a meeting! I can't be late!"

"Someone! Someone do something!"

Pure pandemonium.

To the bottom left of Kirito's vision a small section of his view that displayed the name of the location he was currently in.

In the beta test, when he'd run down this very street, it had read «Starting City: First District». It had said that when he'd been here four hours ago as well.

But now, it read something different. «City Alpha: First District».

Not the «Starting City». «City Alpha».

Somewhere beneath Kirito's feet, in a place called Floor Zero, there was an «Energy Nexus». There'd been no mention of it in beta. Now, for all intents and purposes, its existence was keeping him alive.

And somewhere, far, far above him, on Floor 101, there was another «Energy Nexus»... according to the entity that had referred to itself as Kayaba Akihiko.

And Kirito believed him. Unexplainably, irrationally, he believed that what had spoken to them was truly Kayaba Akihiko. He had built this world, Aincrad. Who was to say he couldn't overcome death itself?

The destruction of that final «Nexus» was the key to his freedom; his freedom, and everyone else's. To reach that «Nexus», the game needed to be beaten. And if Kirito was good at anything, it was beating games.

At some point, Kirito's feet carried him over the city border into the fields beyond. Over a border that, ten minutes ago, had meant nothing, but now meant the difference between safety and life-threatening risk.

_Klein... Klein is really gone..._

There was a blue glow as a monster spawned on the path ahead of him. Kirito pulled his «Glock 19» from its holster, taking aim with one hand as he continued to run, not caring for the massive diameter of the green aim circle.

The blue faded, revealing a realistically-sized wolf, with patterned gray fur and solid orange eyes. It lowered its head and growled at him as he approached.

_I'm going to conquer this world..._

Kirito gathered his emotion, forcing it to coalesce, pumping his will into the weapon in his hand. The yellow aura of «Focus Fire» started to form around the pistol.

_Because none of us deserve that fate..._

The round green reticule vanished, and Kirito fired. The «Glock 19» flashed bright yellow, and a bullet sped forth, impacting the wolf directly between the eyes. Its HP dropped to zero in a fraction of a second, and Kirito dashed onwards without even waiting for the blue particles of its death to disperse.

_to be turned into nothingness._

* * *

All around him was black. Pure, unadulterated, crushing darkness, blocking his every sense, restricting his every motion.

"Kirito?" Klein tried to call. There was no response, just more black, more dark, more absolute nothing. Not even the sound of his own voice reached his ears.

After some time, one thing revealed itself to him. Standing out from the darkness was a single text character, a faint dark gray against the inky background.

«ϱ». _Rho_.

_Well_, Klein thought to himself. _I guess this bug's a little bit more serious than just a missing button._


	3. Unfold the Crease

Author's Note: Those of you that read Chapter 2 when it first came out, some revisions have been made, so you may want to re-read it. Enjoy!

* * *

**Castle Carnation**

~Chapter 3~

_Crack._

Kirito jolted to attention at the unexpected sound. _Gunfire?_

No monsters on the first floor wielded firearms; in fact, the first floor had very few monsters with ranged attacks of any kind, except rare «Kobold Archer» units that sometimes spawned in the dungeon. And archers didn't make gunshot noises. Kirito concluded that other players must be nearby. Not feeling any need for human contact, Kirito decided to end his break, picking himself up off the gray brick floor and beginning to walk away from the noise. However, something about the gunfire made him stop.

There wasn't enough of it. A normal «squad», comparable to a «party» from other MMOs, consisted of six members. Each member would have a firearm of some sort, so, if they were engaging an enemy, there would be quite a blitz of gunshots.

The solid cracks that Kirito heard came only once every few seconds. _Strange. A soloer?_

Solo players, by this point, had become very rare. Fighting alone could be profitable, but was very hazardous: a single stunning hit from an enemy could mean death. It was simply far more practical to move with a «squad». Combined fire could cut down enemies rapidly. Kirito wasn't quite sure why he hadn't found someone to «squad» with yet. Perhaps he had some sort of stubborn pride, stemming from his beta test days...

_Crack._

The gunshots really were too slow. Kirito's primary weapon—a submachine gun, the «MP18», slung over his back with a leather strap—could fire at a rate of five hundred rounds per minute. He expected that any other solo player would have a weapon at a comparable tier.

Rate of fire wasn't everything, of course. Shotguns blasted out massive damage up close, and, contrary to popular belief, could actually be reasonably effective at medium ranges. The sharp cracks that Kirito heard, though, were not the sounds of shotgun fire.

At any rate, another solo player this deep in the dungeon was an anomaly. Kirito decided he would investigate, to at least check that they were doing alright.

He turned a corner, and a tense situation revealed itself.

Under the shadow of a pair of wall-mounted torches, there more to explain away the ambient light than for anything else, a thinly built player in a hooded red cape faced a level 6 humanoid monster, a «Ruin Kobold Trooper». The Kobold wielded a gnarled, dirty hand axe. The player held a lever-action «Winchester Model 1873»: a beautiful weapon, whose stock and body of dark wood framed an action and trigger system of golden brass.

Kirito quickly assessed the player's chances. Whoever it was, they should not have allowed a melee type creature to get so close to them. The primary appeal of «rifles» at this point of the game was their relatively long range. They lacked the fire rate to be particularly effective up close. Kirito saw the Kobold pull back its arm, preparing to swing.

"Get back!" Kirito warned, pulling up his «MP18». He looked down the sights, but the green reticule was too big—he didn't want to risk hitting the player. He considered trying «Focus Fire», but if he missed with that and hit the player by accident, the effect would be even worse. So, Kirito swung his SMG back behind his back and ran forward, drawing his «Glock 19».

As the Kobold's axe swung forwards, the player hopped away with a speed Kirito didn't think was possible, leaning back just enough so that the axe passed in front of them with only an inch to spare. Then the player lifted the rifle to their shoulder, taking aim at the creature directly in front of it. Kirito saw the weapon begin to faintly glow.

"Hey!" Kirito shouted. "Even with a «Focus Fire», you don't have enough DPS! Back off first, or he'll get a hit on you!"

The rifle user didn't hear him. The entire «Winchester 1873» flashed with the bright yellow of «Focus Fire». The bullet punched into the center of the Kobold's chest, making it stagger back. But the Kobold's curved HP bar remained in the green, and it pulled back its arm to swing again.

"Careful!" Kirito shouted again. He fired his pistol towards the wall next to the Kobold, hoping to get its attention, but it was futile. The Kobold continued its attack.

The player smoothly swung the brass action lever of their Winchester forwards and then back, chambering a new round. To Kirito's surprise, their rifle began to glow yellow again.

_Another «Focus Fire»?_

The player shifted their aim to the Kobold's arm and fired. The gun flashed brilliantly, and the bullet tore into the limb. The axe dropped from the Kobold's hand, outward evidence of a «body part disabled» status effect.

With a _ca-click_, the player loaded a third round. The glow around the gun hadn't yet faded. Sure enough, when the player fired, another bright yellow flash was emitted from the gun. This bullet was aimed straight for the Kobold's head, and dropped the monster's HP drastically. The HP bar now retained only a small red sliver.

_Ca-click._ A fourth and final flash of «Focus Fire» lit the room. The shot, like the first, tore into the Kobold's chest, easily depleting the remaining health points. With that, the Kobold let out a dying roar and then burst into sparkling shards of blue.

_Four «Focus Fire» shots in a row?_ Kirito was amazed. He normally needed a break of at least ten seconds before he could reliably activate a second «Focus Fire» shot. There was no actual cool-down timer, but gathering the concentration for just one shot in «Focus Fire» was difficult, and mentally exhausting. Kirito couldn't even fathom the willpower needed to maintain a weapon in «Focus Fire» state over a prolonged time period.

The player staggered, resting their back against the dungeon wall, and then slid down the wall to a sitting position, taking deep breaths. Their rifle hung loosely from their hand, its tip touching the ground. Clearly, unleashing the barrage had taken a toll on them.

The player was out of immediate danger. Kirito should have left, then. He was devoted to his position as a solo player, and had no business interfering with anyone else. There was something intriguing about this player, though. Kirito decided against his better judgment and approached.

"That was extreme overkill, you know."

His statement was met with silence. The player slowly pulled their rifle closer to them, working the brass lever. The «Winchester» was the basic «rifle» type weapon, available for purchase in «City Alpha». In real life, it had historic value, being one of the first guns that could fire repeatedly before needing a lengthy reload. Here, on the first floor of «CC», it was quite popular, as the «rifle» skill could evolve into several others later on, including the «assault rifle» skill, widely regarded among former beta testers as one of the most powerful in the game.

Eventually, when their breath had settled, the player raised their head, acknowledging Kirito's existence.

He tried again. "Hello? That was pretty good, but you shouldn't be «overkilling» like that."

To Kirito's immense surprise, the voice that replied was quiet and high. "Overkill... what do you mean, overkill?"

A female player.

Kirito _really_ should have left then.

«Castle Carnation» was supremely multi-faceted, but its primary appeal, its primary marketing hook, was the «mythos of the gun»: the way a gun could come to life in the hands of any dedicated player. Its target audience, therefore, was, by and large, male. Kirito tried not to carry stereotypes with him, but this was just an absolute truth: girls had less interest in a game about guns.

That wasn't to say they had no interest at all. At launch, the ratio of male to female players was about three to one.

In the field, this ratio didn't seem to hold as true. In one month, Kirito had seen just four female players actively participating in quests, all members of large squads. Perhaps something about the female mentality made them more inclined to remain in «City Alpha», safe from danger. It really was the logical thing to do. The gung-ho 'charge in and beat this thing' mindset had gotten more than a few players killed in the first week.

Female players trying to clear the game were few and far between. However, those that did exist were, from Kirito's experience, relatively skilled, especially in terms of spatial awareness and «Focus Fire» affinity. Perhaps this was another product of the subtle biological distinction between the genders. The display Kirito had witnessed just served to reinforce this idea.

Whoever this mysterious solo rifleman was, she probably didn't need his help. He should have left.

His decision not to would come to haunt him years later.

"You did way more damage than was necessary. After the third shot, the Kobold was basically dead. A normal shot would have been enough... you didn't have to spend the energy to do a «Focus Fire». Look at how exhausted you are. You have to think about the return path."

"...Return path?"

At first, Kirito thought she was being coy with him. But the innocence, fatigue, and genuine curiosity in her voice made him think otherwise.

"You know. It's about an hour of off-and-on fighting to get from here to the dungeon exit, and almost thirty more minutes to get from there to «Tolbana» to the south. It's the nearest place to repair items, get more ammo, and restock on pots... or «bandages» or «medifoam» or whatever they're called. You're all the way in here as a solo-er; you must have done this at least once..."

The player lifted her head up slightly. The bottom of her eyes just barely shone out from under her hood. "I don't need healing when I don't take damage. I brought three of this same rifle, and they are degrading faster than I am using ammunition."

Kirito gave her an odd look. "Wha... how long have you been in here?"

* * *

He was stunned.

"You haven't gone back in _four days_?"

"Yes... is that all? The area's monsters will respawn soon. I'll be going."

She pushed herself off the wall with a leather-gloved hand, using her rifle as a crutch to regain her feet.

"You're sure you want to do that? Four days straight in the dungeon... you look like you're about to pass out or something..."

'I don't need healing when I don't take damage,' she had said. Now that he was up close, he could see that wasn't a complete truth: in some sections her red cape was severely torn, and Kirito suspected her armor under that was at least scratched. She was fast, Kirito admitted to himself, but it was clearly impossible to avoid being hit forever.

"I am fine."

The words were out of his mouth before he'd thought them through fully. "You'll die if you keep going like this."

The hooded player leaned her shoulder back against the wall. "Everyone will die in the end anyways."

The simple sentence seemed to lower the temperature of the room several degrees.

"It's been one month. More than a thousand players are dead, and not even the first floor is cleared. Clearing this game is not possible. The only thing that distinguishes players, now, is where and how we die... how early or how late... But the best thing we can do is fight. Those that do not might as well already be dead... stagnant... _useless_..."

She picked herself back up the wall and started off again.

"Wait, rifleman-san."

At first, she ignored him, but, as he continued, she halted to listen.

"I think I might understand. You're not here just to get yourself killed. You're here... here because you're fighting the system. You're basically trying to clear the game, right? Why don't you come to the «Meeting»?"

She didn't turn or respond, but Kirito guessed she wanted him to elaborate. "This afternoon, in «Tolbana», the town closest to the dungeon, the «First Floor Boss Strategy Conference» will supposedly be held. In the town center, at 4 pm."

"I suppose I will come," she said back, quietly. "But what was that you called me just now?"

_Huh?_

"Uh... 'rifleman-san?' Your main weapon is a rifle, and I don't know your name..."

"...of course," the mysterious girl said, and then brushed past him with her mini-map opened.

* * *

Kirito didn't look up as the newcomer plopped onto the wall beside him.

The voice was quick, sharp, and slightly nasal. "I could tell you a thing or two about her. Real cheap! 500 col."

Five hundred col was a pittance, really: just a few minutes worth of farming low-risk mobs. Nevertheless, Kirito held up his hands. "Uh, no thanks. I'm not paying for a girl's information."

The small figure chuckled. "Fufu. You've got a good heart, Ki-bou."

She was diminutive, more than a head shorter than him. Her worn equipment, like Kirito's, was all basic cloth and leather. Yet, whenever Kirito was in her presence, she made his setup feel slightly inadequate.

The leather armor over Kirito's shirt had just a pair of leather loops on the front, capable of holding the oddly-shaped magazines his «MP18» took. The «MP18» was an unusual weapon, German-made from the era of the World Wars, requiring P-shaped magazines inserted from the side. Its damage-per-bullet and accuracy were fairly low, but it was one of the first automatic weapons available in the game, and, in Kirito's opinion, one of the best weapons available on the first floor. As a full-size submachine gun, it certainly looked impressive, considering that many players still relied on pistols as their primary weapons.

In fact,_ she_ was probably one of them. Her vest was far more tactical than Kirito's plain, specialized protective sheet, featuring a set of four multi-purpose pouches for holding ammunition and who-knew-what-else.

Around it, she wore a cloak. It was similar to the one worn by the mystery rifleman, but was less torn, in a duller brown color, and probably had its insides lined with even more pockets. Her hair was curly, of a similar tan shade. It came down around her head to rest just beneath her chin, almost like another cloak under the first. But she pulled off the actual hood now, revealing her mischievous face, complete with false whiskers drawn unto both cheeks.

Her name was «Argo», and she was known as «the Rat», Aincrad's first information dealer.

He pointed at a curved hilt, protruding from one of her vest pouches.

"Is that a knife?"

Melee weapons such as knives certainly existed in «CC», but few possessed them, and no one actually used them. They weren't the one-hit-kill devices that some shooters portrayed them as. «Focus Fire» couldn't be applied to any non-firearm. The damage and range of bullets outclassed knives in every way, except for perhaps the aspect of ammunition. Even once a player's guns had ran out of ammunition, retreat was recommended over engaging in a melee battle. Taking a knife up against any creature would be suicide. Enemies with ranged attacks could cut a player down before they even got close, and melee enemies were armed with longer-reach weapons like swords and axes that a knife had no chance of parrying.

Argo pulled out the knife. Its blade was a thin strip of metal not much longer than her middle finger. She tossed it up, let it rotate a few times, and then caught it deftly between her thumb and forefinger.

"Throwing knife, actually."

Kirito sighed. "Argo, do you even know how to use that thing?"

She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Maaaaybe," she drawled.

"...Is there even a skill for that?"

"I dunno...but -"

"Let me guess, you can find out for ten thousand col?"

"Probably."

To Kirito's knowledge, there wasn't even a «knife» skill, and this was a game with «fishing» and «cooking» skills in it. Kirito wasn't sure why, given how useless they were, knives had included in the first place. Maybe these throwing weapons were the answer, but without an explicit «skill» associated with them, they'd be as effective as any old rock, and much harder to use.

"What are you planning to do, tickle the first floor boss to death?"

"Nah. I think I'll leave the tickling to you clearers. Strategy meeting's today, no?" She balanced the tip of the curved knife on her finger.

"You already know that," Kirito contended, watching her handle the sharp weapon with mild interest. "So, I assume you came here for more than just to embarrass me about my ignorance."

The brick wall they leaned on stood next to a minor street in Tolbana, not far off from the central square where the «Boss Strategy Conference» was slated to be held. The roads were asphalt, but the buildings resembled old brick and mortar, like a remote European village. The whole first floor was a bit of a puzzle to Kirito. «City Alpha»'s architecture was sparkly and modern. The primary dungeon enemies were «Kobolds», typical bipedal fantasy creatures. The towns in-between couldn't decide between a rustic or modern style. It was a strange dichotomy of themes. _There aren't any cars. What are the asphalt roads supposed to be for?_

"Well, hmm," Argo said as an affirmative, slipping the knife back into its pouch. "Got a bit of info for you. Not much, but it's real tasty."

Kirito nodded. Argo knew what she was doing. To Kirito, she wasn't just a source. She was the only person currently on his «friends» list. That didn't mean she wouldn't try to get just compensation from him, though.

"I'll bite," Kirito said. "What's your price?"

Argo drew a breath. "This isn't something I should be charging a price for."

Kirito met her eyes. He hadn't known her to give away information for free, ever, even to him. "Why?"

"...Almost a week ago. You asked me to find out how many beta testers have died. I gave you an estimate."

Kirito nodded. "Right. You said around three hundred. Three hundred of the eleven hundred dead were in the beta. A forty percent mortality rate for testers so far, versus just one in ten overall."

"Right," Argo said. "Then I did some more digging, and that isn't the whole story. Ever seen the «Monument of Life» back in «City Alpha»?"

He'd seen it. It was a massive granite wall, wrapped around the interior of what had been in beta the «Room of Resurrection». Inscribed on it were rows upon rows of names. Those that died had their names grayed out and struck through with thick horizontal lines.

"«Monument of _death_», more like. Yeah... more than anything, it's just depressing to look at. What about it?"

"How many copies of «Castle Carnation» were sold for this release?"

"Uh... ten thousand, I think?"

"Okay, Ki-bou. Get this. It's a grid, right? I counted out its dimensions. Fifty columns and one hundred rows. That's five thousand names in total."

"No way... Just five thousand? What about the others? They're not displayed?"

"I've talked to lots of people," Argo said, "who've talked to lots of other people themselves. Everyone's seen their name on there."

"Five thousand names," Kirito muttered, "for ten thousand people. Any way you could find out how many on the wall were crossed out?"

"Don't worry, I counted. Took a while, mind you. As of two days ago, one thousand seventy four."

"So the estimated death count is accurate? You're sure this is right?"

Argo flipped her hood back on. "Remember who you're talking to. That's all I got for now. I'll be around for the meeting."

"Hey, Argo..." Kirito said uncertainly. "You're heading back to «City Alpha» after, right? Could you look at the wall for me? I want you to check for a name. Klein. K-L-E-I-N."

"K-L-E-I-N," she repeated to herself. "Can do... for the low price of just three hundred col."

"Naturally," Kirito said, rolling his eyes and opening his menu.

Once the transfer was complete. Argo pushed herself off the wall. "See you around, Ki-bou," she said with a light wave.

"Yup," he called back. "Still waiting on an explanation for the whiskers..."

She didn't acknowledge him, but, minutes later, on his way to the strategy meeting, an orange chat notification appeared on the left of his view.

_"100,000 col or you'll have to keep on waiting."_

* * *

Some say that history is written not by grand movements, not by massive societal shifts, but by the actions of a very few specific individuals. Napoleon. Caesar. Churchill. Gandhi. Mao. What might young men and women throughout history, killed in freak accidents, have grown up to become? What effect might another brilliant mind have had on the world? Another visionary? Another Edison, another Martin Luther King? What if we hadn't had these people in our world? What would our world be now, without Washington? Without the ambition of Khan, or Alexander the Great?

How much difference does one man, or the lack of one man, make?

"Alright, everyone! Get settled in, we're starting!"

Kirito wasn't much of a history buff, but he knew a good leader when he saw one. His stature was impressive. He was ridiculously, absurdly, _unfairly_ handsome, like the sort of avatar one would create through character customization. His hair was dyed a vibrant blue, a rarity on the first floor. Dyes could be obtained, but no shops sold them. And his voice carried through the air with authority yet lyrical appeal. Forty-five players, seated in semicircles on the steps leading into the plaza, gave him their full attention.

"I'll introduce myself. My name is Diabel."

He lifted his arm to point at the tower of the dungeon. "Today... at the twentieth level of that tower, my party found a large set of wooden doors. Without a doubt, they lead to the boss room!"

Excited discussion burst out between several of the gathered players. They quieted quickly when Diabel resumed.

"It's taken us one month to come this far. The fifty or so of us here, we are the best there is right now. We must set an example. We must kill the boss and reach the second floor. We must show everyone that it is possible: that this game can be cleared! All of us gathered here, we are obligated! We have this responsibility!"

There were genuine cheers for him now. Kirito took a good look around. On the opposite side of the plaza, he spotted Argo in her drab cloak, watching and listening as she always did. Did she feel that responsibility?

And what of the anomalous rifle-wielding girl, who didn't believe the game could be beaten, but fought anyways —fought because death was more desirable than inaction? Kirito saw her sitting on a concrete terrace, just a few meters from him, silent. She'd already resigned herself to death. Did she feel obligated to be there?

_And what about me?_ Kirito wondered. _I'm solo. I tell myself it's because I want to become strong, as strong as I can be, to clear the game, to free everyone. But the best way to do that, really, is to join a squad. I have to admit to myself: I'm selfish, or stubborn. Probably both._

"But before I continue, there is something that needs to be addressed. There are undoubtedly a few among us here who were participants in the beta test."

_Uh-oh._ Kirito twiddled his thumbs and steadfastly stared at his toes.

Diabel cast his eyes around. "Some say that beta testers claimed all the best resources, cleared the best hunting grounds, got stronger without a care for everyone else. Some blame beta testers for the one thousand deaths."

"I suggest we see beta testers in another light."

This made Kirito look up. Diabel and Kirito's eyes met, and Kirito thought he saw a flash of recognition in the other's eyes before he looked away.

"Why should we hate them? What have they done that we, in their places, wouldn't have? Why do we even use the terms 'us' and 'them?' Beta testers are just players. We are all the same. Beta testers simply have experience, and experience is exactly what we need. RPGs are unfair. We must accept that. But us in «Castle Carnation», we are all in this together. We should not look at former testers and mark them as selfish or greedy. Rather, they are our vanguard. They are our knights, our paladins, our spearhead against this world. We need their aid. So, any testers out there, do not be shy. Come forth so that we may recognize you, and we may learn from you."

Out of all the things Kirito thought Diabel would say, he'd expected _that_ the least.

Several players stood and descended to join Diabel in the amphitheatre center. Kirito noticed that Argo was not one of them. Kirito almost went... but no. He wasn't solo because he'd been a beta tester. He was solo because... because...

_"Hey, Kirito, after this I'm meeting up with some friends of mine from another game. I could introduce you to them... How 'bout it?"_

'Solo' was just how he wanted to play.

"So, as I understand it," Diabel continued, "a strategy guide of some sort is being distributed in item shops, containing information learned in the beta test."

"I've got it," a deep, baritone voice said. The man stood, and he was massive. He towered, close to six feet high. His skin was dark, and his muscles were sculpted. His appearance meant nothing of his stats, but on his back was a «Madsen Light Machine Gun», which, in spite of the 'light' in its name, was nothing of the sort. Kirito knew it took significant devotion to the «STR» attribute to be able to equip it this early in the game.

"Name's Agil," he said, tossing a thin sheepskin-bound volume to Diabel. "Picked this up for free, right here in Tolbana."

On its front was a unique emblem, a pair of abstract, stylized round ears and accompanying whiskers: A «rat mark», identifying the book's creator as Argo herself. Kirito recognized the book. _When did she start giving it away for free?_

"Thank you, Agil. Let's see what we've got. According to this latest edition, the boss's name is «Illfang the Kobold Lord». It stands twenty feet tall, and is armed with an axe and a bulletproof round shield, and then a «talwar» for its second phase. It has four health bars and summons «Ruin Kobold Sentinel» minions to assist after each bar is depleted. His attack pattern consists of charging with its shield held in front of it at whatever is giving it the most damage, and swinging at anything close enough to be hit. A suggested strategy is to have squads positioned on all sides, so when he charges at one his back is exposed to the others. Its stats apparently aren't all that high, so this really is very doable."

It was a lot of information. Kirito only vaguely remembered the boss from beta. He remembered for sure that the first floor boss had been quite easy. A melee enemy had been no match for a full raid group, each man spitting out deadly lead...

"Alright," Diabel said. "Now, if we haven't already, let's form up into squads. Try for full squads of six, and we'll shift people around as necessary."

_Squadmates..._ Kirito rapidly scanned his immediate area. Argo, true to her earlier word, was nowhere to be seen. All those near him had already grouped into sixes... all but one, the female rifleman in red.

He sighed and shuffled his way over to her.

* * *

"Back in the dungeon, you shouted something at me when I was fighting? Something about «DPS»?"

"Oh... well, I guess I was wrong. The way you attacked that monster was still too reckless, though."

"Can you explain «DPS»?"

"It's a simple concept. Your main weapon is a «rifle», designed for long range accurate support shooting. Compared to less accurate guns, it has a good DPS at long range. You may have beat that Kobold, but you were exhausted afterward. It's too risky to use a rifle like that. Other guns with higher close-range DPS would do better. Even pistols, because they can shoot faster."

"...I understand that. What I meant to ask... what does the word itself mean? «DPS»?"

Kirito blinked. She moved and aimed like a veteran, but her knowledge seemed extremely lacking. "...Is this your first MMO?"

"...Yes."

_Oh dear._ "I guess I'll start with the basics. «DPS» stands for 'damage per second'..."

Her name, as the tag next to her health bar indicated, was Asuna. Asuna, it turned out, hadn't touched a game before in her life. Consequently, as the raid group made its way through the intermediate forest towards the dungeon, Kirito found himself assaulted by questions from his sole party member.

"Hey... before this, have you played other, ah, 'MMO' games? That's what this is called, right?"

"Yeah... I've played a lot of them. Why?"

"In other games... are there times where you get this... this feeling? This sense that you're... like you're on a field trip or something?"

Kirito looked sideways at her. The trees made it relatively shady, and she still had her red hood on, so he couldn't tell what expression she was wearing.

"Field trip? I wish... but... well, no. This is the only real game made with «FullDive» tech. Most other games still just use VR headsets or mouse and keyboard... I think I know what you're talking about. There isn't the same immersion. We wouldn't be having a conversation like this, I don't think, in other games."

"Hmm. It's all so strange to me. In these places... the realm of guns, monsters, magic... is this kind of thing normal? Venturing out to vanquish a fantastical lord..."

"Down a road leading to either glory or death, huh... I guess this is pretty common in games like these. As common as, say... going out for dinner, in the real world. But in this game especially, it means more than that, doesn't it. There's real risk... but we have to keep going. It's taken us four weeks to get to here. If we beat the boss today, that's one down, ninety-nine to go... We could be in here for years. An event like this could become a daily occurrence."

"Years... honestly, being trapped in here for years? That's scary. Maybe... even dying here, today, would be a better fate than that."

"Ey, I'm not having any of that. I wouldn't want any party members dying on me. Try to stay alive, at least today, would you?"

She chuckled lightly. "Haha. _Un_."

Her laugh was like an angel's. _She'll go far here,_ Kirito thought. _Everyone here has their own inner «strength» that will take them far. Diabel, his ability to lead, to motivate. Argo, her drive to always know, to seek the truth. This rifleman, Asuna, her desire above all else to defy this world, to continue to live, though her definition of 'live' and mine aren't exactly the same._

_What is my strength? What is my absolute truth? What do I have that will take me through to the end?_

Kirito couldn't find an answer to those questions.

* * *

The long, rectangular room rung with the clatter of weapons fire. "One bar left! Aggro switch to B! Squads E and F, hold off those «Sentinels»!" Diabel stood with his squad, designated 'C', taking potshots at the Kobold Lord with his main weapon, a «Colt M1911» handgun.

"On it!" Kirito shouted. Three of the halberd-bearing creatures sprinted towards them. "Okay, I'll take the two on the left, you take the-"

Her «Winchester» pulsed yellow and the rightmost «Sentinel» fell to its knees, crippled by a «Focus Fire».

Kirito nodded. "Yeah, that one!" He set his «MP18» against his shoulder and held down the trigger, dragging the green aim circle over both his targets. His thirty-two round drum magazine was drained. The repeated impacts staggered the Kobolds and cut away at their health bars, leaving them in the red.

"They're low!" he reported as he pulled another magazine from his vest. "I'm reloading; finish 'em off!"

"Roger!" his companion called. _Ca-click. Bang. Ca-click. Bang. Ca-click. Bang. _In seconds, with three well-aimed normal shots, all the «Sentinels» were dispatched, and their blue remains fluttered away.

No «Overkill» whatsoever. Kirito marveled at the speed and accuracy of the shots. From what he'd just observed, he'd never have pegged Asuna for a first time MMO player. With their task complete, he looked back over to where the other squads were.

"He's almost done!" Diabel reported. Kirito saw he was right. «Illfang»'s final health bar was less than a third full, colored red. "No more aggro switching. Squads A, B, and D, back off! E and F, get in firing position! Squad C, with me!"

Diabel had explained this strategy, outlined in Argo's guide, to them in-depth just earlier. Mass «Focus Fire» on the boss wasn't effective at causing damage, as the physical properties of its skin were extremely bullet resistant, except at a few hard-to-hit places. And even experienced players like Kirito couldn't execute «Focus Fire» with 100% reliability under pressure.

Instead, their strategy revolved around «kiting» and manipulation of the boss's «aggro». «Focus Fire», while not likely to cause damage, was a simple way to make the boss AI prioritize certain players over others. Four squads would take up positions around the boss. One would «aggravate» it, causing it to charge at them with its shield held in front of it. When this happened, the other three squads would have clear shots at the boss's sides and back. The squad being pursued would «kite» the boss, running away staying just out of melee range, and taking shots when possible to keep it chasing after them, like a dog after a kite.

When the distraction group inevitably took damage, another of the groups would draw the boss's attention with «Focus Fire», allowing the first to recover. Former beta testers were ostensibly the best at «Focus Fire» and had been distributed through the four main squads accordingly.

So far, the strategy had worked perfectly. There had yet to be a player to drop into the red.

But the strategy guide had warned against this final stage. When «Illfang» was on its last legs, it would cast aside its axe and buckler and pull from its back a curved sword. It would attack recklessly and ruthlessly. Once it entered this final phase, all squads were to focus on «Illfang» and remove the rest of his health as fast as possible. The hope was that forty-four players' worth of standard shooting would kill it fast enough to prevent casualties.

«Illfang» stopped attacking and threw its head back to let out a roar. The axe and shield clattered to the ground, and the sword behind its back was brought out. Kirito sighed in relief. Their information had been right: it was indeed a scaled-up «talwar».

But then the crystals set in the supposedly decorative bracers on «Illfang»'s wrists glowed white, and a thin, near-transparent layer of pink manifested just over the Kobold's red skin.

It certainly wasn't just an aesthetic change. Kirito had seen this ability before. It had been rare, dreaded amongst the high-level beta testers, only found on certain enemies in the eighth floor dungeon. They had nicknamed it «pink eye», though it wasn't always pink, and had little to do with one's vision.

"Stop!" Kirito shouted. "Wait! Everyone hold fire! It's different from beta!"

It was a «repulsive kinetic barrier». Any bullets that impacted the thin pink layer would be sent back, in exactly the direction they had come from.

"You heard him!" Diabel recognized. "Hold fire, everyone! He's got a reflect shield on... We can't risk everyone shooting. Squads A and D, in front! Beta testers and marksmen, stand by!"

Kirito blinked. Diabel was more knowledgeable than he'd thought. Had he been...

The players reformed into ranks, hesitantly keeping their guns silent as «Illfang» stomped closer.

"Why?" asked Agil, leader of squad B. "We gotta kill him, quickly, before he can use that talwar!"

The only way to disable the barrier with guns was to destroy the «barrier generators», the devices that emitted the barrier. Kirito guessed that «Illfang»'s generators were the glowing crystals on his wrist bracers. Both bracers would probably have to be hit before the barrier was disabled.

Tiny, rapidly moving targets. Hitting three inches to either side could mean your bullet bouncing back and killing you.

"Inaccurate fire will get us killed. All we can do while that repulsion shield is active is try and stay alive while our best shooters risk hitting the generators..." Diabel turned towards «Illfang» with his gun up. "Squad C, hold here. I'm going for it!"

"Diabel, wait!" Kirito protested. It was no use. The blue-haired leader dashed forwards, his «M1911» held firm in both hands. The Kobold Lord bore down on him at an alarming pace. He planted his legs, taking careful aim, and Kirito saw the gun faintly glow.

_He's going to risk «Focus Fire» with a pistol? If he misses, the shot will come back and..._

"NO!" Kirito shouted. But Diabel's gun pulsed a yellow brighter than a muzzle flash.

A few bytes worth of processing and memory on some server somewhere represented the deadly metal-jacketed projectile, sets of numbers being incremented as it moved, closer and closer to its target. Then its position was five inches _left_ of its intended target, crossing a line marked by another few bytes as critical. With the switching of a few bits of data, its velocity was reversed. In fractions of milliseconds, the numbers were incremented again and again, sending the projectile back in the opposite direction...

Before the echoes of Kirito's shout had even faded, Diabel staggered from the impact of his own round hitting his shoulder. And then «Illfang» reached him. The talwar slashed viciously across his chest and sent him flying sideways before he hit and slid across the ground.

«Illfang the Kobold Lord», with less than a twelfth of its health left, was still far from defeated.

* * *

**Klea**

**Kleon**

**Klemens**

**Klement**

"Well, not there," Argo muttered to herself, double-checking the granite wall to make sure she hadn't missed anything. _Easiest col ever. But if he expected to see it, this just gives more questions than answers..._

_I wonder how the boss fight is going. Stay safe, Ki-bou._

"_Into the jaws of Death, into the mouth of hell, rode the_... five thousand..."

"Agh, _screw_ that freaking poem." She quietly cursed her good memory, and continued to curse it as more of the poem's lines came to her out of the blue.

_Then they rode back, but all five thousand... O, the wild charge... Honor the charge they made... _

"Fuck you, memory!"

* * *

_~One month earlier. Launch day, at the ARGUS network monitoring center.~_

"Oh no... something new is happening. «Cardinal»'s going mad. Generic warning messages everywhere. I can't tell what's actually going on without access to the high-level console we're locked out of."

"We've got bandwidth shifts... Mishima server is dropping like a stone, Sorachi too."

"Are they logging out?"

"No... Niigata's bandwidth just shot up... «Cardinal» transferred them? Why?"

"Woah, you're not kidding. That's... four thousand eight hundred in Niigata alone now. Almost half the players."

"What the hell... and it's «Cardinal» doing this?"

"Almost definitely. I thought we were being hacked, but that's just not possible with how secure our system is. «Cardinal» itself is going bonkers."

"Something like this can't be a fluke. You don't _accidentally_ cause people's brains to be fried. «Cardinal» is smart, maybe even goddamn self-aware at this point. It's software, if we just shut down every server simultaneously..."

"No, that's not possible. Think about it. «Cardinal» isn't even technically an AI, it's just a bunch of dumb algorithms. I wasn't directly involved with the design, but I know that much. «Top-down» AIs aren't capable of any kind of self-awareness. That's like suspecting bomb of having ill intentions because it fell on your head. We can't try to blame the bomb. We have to find the bomber."

"And we tried the server shutdown thing with Tokai. You want to try shutting down more servers, be my guest. I'm not gonna be the one responsible for thousands more deaths."

"...So our best bet right now is to do what exactly?"

"We wait. We watch and wait and figure out exactly what the heck is going on. Then, we'll find the guy who's dropping the bombs."

"I... I didn't say anything earlier, because I didn't know for sure. But... someone I know is stuck in there right now. A niece. I know it's the right move, not trying anything hasty, but... it's killing me, Marc."

"Jesus, Ohkawa. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, yeah... let's just... let's just keep an eye out."

* * *

Klein stared, open-mouthed, at the figure oozing out of the sky.

After a few seconds, or perhaps it had been minutes, in the oppressive black, Klein was now standing amidst a crowd of other players, packed into a square of some sort. It wasn't in the «Starting City», Klein was sure of that. The floor was composed of faintly copper-colored metal tiles rather than the concrete. The architecture of the surrounding buildings was not the clean glass and chrome he was familiar with, but utilitarian gray stone. It was almost medieval in style, excepting the bright electric lights in the windows of the buildings.

Above him, a faceless GM hovered, undoubtedly prepared to give some kind of profound announcement.

"**Greetings, players. Welcome to my world**."

...

"**This ends the official tutorial for the Rho division of «Castle Carnation». Players, I wish you luck.**"

_Profound_ was one way of putting it.

* * *

Author's Note: Be aware that this work is living; that is, most chapters, even after being posted, will need to undergo extensive editing before I consider them 'complete.' Please point out any errors to me if you find them! Thanks for continuing to read!


	4. Alpha, Beater, Rho

**Castle Carnation**

~Chapter 4~

Kirito slid to Diabel's side, a «medifoam» canister appearing in his hand. He held the spray can to Diabel's chest and emptied its contents, which aerosolized and then dissolved into the injured player, initiating a heal-over-time effect. Kirito was relieved to see the man's health recover, climbing out of the red zone.

Diabel sighed, closing his eyes briefly in relief. "Thank you," he said.

"What were you thinking?" Kirito demanded. "You recognized the shield, even. Were you-"

"Not my finest moment, to be sure." Diabel gripped his «M1911» and climbed back to his feet.

He turned his attention back to the fight. Their lines wavered, intimidated by the pounding steps «Illfang» made towards them. Diabel quickly took charge again. "Don't panic. Squad A, hold him off as best you can without firing! D squad, prepare to switch in! Beta testers, get ready to fire! When I give the signal, take your best shots! We need to knock out his bracers!"

_Beta testers?_ Kirito understood. Diabel would rely on the experience (and, hopefully, accuracy) of the ex-beta testers to try and pick off the shield generator bands.

Asuna stepped next to him. "Are they all going to try that?" she asked him.

Were beta testers the most qualified to be attempting those shots? Kirito looked around and saw several of them nervously aiming pistols and submachine guns. _They might have been in the beta, but they aren't experts. This could be bad..._ If he were to trust one person here to be able to hit the generators, it wouldn't be one of them. It would be-

"Asuna," he said. "Do you think you could do it? Hit those arm bands?"

"Me?"

«Illfang» swiped at Squad A, pushing them back like leaves. One member of squad D lost his cool, lifted his shotgun and fired. The spread of pellets bounced back, pummeling him. Squad A scrambled to heal him and hold formation.

"Fire!" Diabel commanded.

A chain of cracks pierced the air as their designated beta testers fired. Bullets whizzed by the bracers, but the boss's arms were constantly in motion. No shooter scored a direct hit, and two of the pistolers bounced their shots off the barrier and chipped at their own health.

"He's moving too fast!" one of them shouted, their voice panicked.

"We can do this," Diabel reassured. "Squad D, switch! Recover and prepare a second volley! Squad B, prepare to move up!"

D squad bravely moved to take A's place, but with shooting off limits, they couldn't do much more than be meatshields. «Illfang»'s talwar swatted again, knocking aside another pair of players.

_Their health is getting low,_ Kirito realized. _We don't have time for careful volleys. _

"Asuna!" he called, gripping his «MP18» tighter. "Can you do it or not?"

She hesitated, and then nodded. "I'll try my best!"

"OK!" Kirito said. "I'll get his attention. He'll have to pull his sword back. Fire when it's all the way behind him, the moment his arm stops moving!"

"Understood!" Asuna flipped her hood back to ensure her view was unrestricted, though her red cloak remained hung over her shoulders. Revealed for the first time was her flowing light chestnut hair, matching the fierce orange of her irises. She took a shooting stance and shouldered her «Winchester». "Ready!"

Kirito ran forwards past the scattered line of squad D, firing his SMG from his hip, directing the bullets at the ground around «Illfang». The beast roared and turned towards him, lifting the talwar up for an overhand strike.

Yellow flared behind Kirito, and he saw the sword arm's bracer splinter apart. The light pink field around the beast flickered, but did not go out.

And then the sword came down at him. He dove to the right, but the boss twisted its wrist, keeping Kirito in the blade's path. It cut a diagonal red streak into his chest and knocked him to the floor. He tried hopping his feet, but found he couldn't move his legs; a small parallelogram icon had appeared next to his health bar, displaying a trio of swirling stars: the «stun» effect, disabling all lower body movement and drastically lowering accuracy with all weapons. He gritted his teeth, holding the «MP18» across his chest to try and physically block the talwar as it came down towards him again.

The blade clashed against the steel of the gun barrel, sending out an unrealistically voluminous spray of sparks. Kirito felt his strength stat strained, and knew his weapon's durability was taking a drastic hit. Guns were not made to block swords.

«Illfang» pushed the talwar down harder, lifting his other arm high up into the air and holding it stationary. Out of the corner of Kirito's vision, there was another yellow flash, and Kirito saw the second wristband crumple off, white crystals disintegrating into blue fragments.

_She did it! _"The shield is down!" he heard Diabel announce. "Everyone fire!"

Then the talwar sheared through his trusty «MP18» and sank into his chest. Kirito felt the impact and then nothing more as the black of unconsciousness claimed him.

* * *

_~Launch Day: City Rho.~_

Asada Shino stared at her hand.

She walked alone, absent-minded, her simple leather shoes clinking on coppery brick of the unfamiliar city.

_**"«Castle Carnation» is no longer a simple game. It is... a second reality. This game no longer contains any method to revive players. If your HP reaches zero... the NerveGear will destroy your brain."**_

Second reality.

_She stares into the mirror. Black eyes look back. _

_Where are my glasses?_

Away from the noise, the expletives being shouted in the plaza, her feet carried her further, down streets, around corners, through alleyways. She didn't know where she was going. She didn't even know who she was. She passed under an overhang, down a set of stairs. The walls vanished. The floor vanished. Her hand vanished.

Asada Shino disappeared into the shadows.

_Who am I?_

Something stood out from the darkness, two faint red lights: A pair of elliptical eyes. From their direction, a malicious growl spewed forth.

She noticed that the area name, «Rho Upper Catacombs», was displayed in the bottom left of her vision. She blankly took note of its color: a warm red.

The system chose a color based on the area's difficulty and the level of the player viewing it. White meant a safe zone. Pink meant trivial. Red ranged from manageable to difficult. Purple, meant, in a normal MMO, a risky challenge; here, only the most foolish took it as anything other than 'avoid at all costs.' Darker shades of crimson marked areas the system considered impossible. Players referred to this color coding as «con», short for 'consideration of difficulty': this area would be called «red-con».

_Who am I now?_

_Who is Sinon?_

_Sinon. Sine. Non. Sinon is not a color. Sinon is not a hairstyle. Sinon is not a face. Sinon is an idea. Sinon is a motive. Sinon is a means to an end._

_I am not Asada Shino._

A bright yellow flash overpowered the glow of the eyes. The sound of the gunshot reverberated through the cramped corridors.

The girl didn't see herself take the gun from its holster. She didn't even really feel it.

What is a gun? Are guns tools, tools for killing? Or is a gun a symbol for something deeper than that, a symbol of agency, a representation of the power of the individual? Is the gun really a weapon, or is it more than that: is it an extension of the self?

Asada Shino would say no, that a gun is a tool, whose only function is to cause terror, to cause pain. Sinon, on the other hand...

_The gun is part of the person. It is not a mere firearm. It is your will. It is your power. It is you._

Sinon walked onwards, deeper into the dark, not caring when she descended a second staircase, and her area indicator shifted to read «Rho Lower Catacombs», colored a sickly dark red.

* * *

"Hey! You six! Stop where you're going!"

'Them six' went by the names of Issin, Harry One, Dale, Dynamm, Kunimittz, and Klein. _Swift as the wind, orderly as the forest, fierce as the fire, unshakable as the mountain: __風林火山__. Fuurinkazan._ Klein put his hands on his hips and raised an eyebrow at the lone figure that stood before them. "I know you. You were the one shouting nonsense in the square yesterday. Kibaou, right? What do you want?"

The man with the spiky hair crossed his arms and leaned forwards. "You guys look like you're doing pretty well for yourselves. But since you're just hanging around like this, I don't think you're them," he spat, "_beaters_. What do you say about joining my cause?"

«Beater»: A term Kibaou had explained yesterday in his inflammatory speech, a portmanteau of «beta tester» and «cheater». It wasn't entirely his own invention; many inhabitants of Rho had taken to using the term in the past few days. As far as Klein knew, not a single beta tester had offered any information about their new surroundings, or had even just admitted to having been in the beta. They were all silent, and, as a result, a majority of players now considered them dirty and selfish: cheaters using their prior knowledge to gain an edge over the rest of them.

Klein frowned at him. "Look, buddy. I understand why you're mad at the beta testers, but if you'd been in the beta, I'd bet you'd be using all your knowledge to help yourself... Your «Aincrad Liberation Force» idea is a good one, but Fuurinkazan is its own clan. Thanks for the offer, but we'll go our own way."

Kibaou was lowered his head and groveled at them. "I see. But keep this in mind: I've talked to several people who I know are beta testers. None of the will admit it, but I know. They're murderers, you see. By taking all the good hunting grounds, all the best loot, they left the rest of us behind. The five hundred deaths so far are on their heads."

"Not entirely," Klein rebuked. He admitted it was unkind of the experienced players to withhold information, but he could understand their perspective. The malign feelings that Kibaou had stirred up with his rant the day before certainly wouldn't encourage them to share. "Now, if you'd please let us pass..."

"Right," Kibaou said gruffly, standing aside. "Remember what I've said. You can't trust 'em, them dirty _beaters_."

They brushed past him. "Is that guy serious?" Kunimittz asked. "It's like he's about to start a witch hunt or something."

"And we'll have no part of it," Klein answered. "Let's just get a move on. Dale, you have the papers that we got from that last quest, right?"

"Yup," the man said, passing Klein several wrinkled yellow sheets. "Here you go, Leader."

Klein examined the parchment. "These maps are pretty detailed. Shows the entrance location, and a general layout for the entire first floor... there's supposedly a second level, though, that isn't mapped. First floor map shows a staircase leading down."

"So there's an entire dungeon, right under there? How come no one's found it until now?"

A week had passed since their sudden transposition to «City Rho». Kirito was nowhere to be found, and was missing from Klein's friends list, but Klein clung to the hope that somewhere he might be alive. He'd been a beta tester, after all.

"It's one shady staircase in the entirety of the city. Plus, it's an unlit dungeon. These torch items," Klein said, extracting one from his inventory and tossing it to Issin, "are from a quest that hardly anyone else did. If we're lucky we're the first ones to raid this place."

Following the NPC's instructions to the letter, the squad of six weaved through the compact orange streets of «City Rho», and soon found themselves face to face with the descending steps.

Klein materialized another torch, retaining his grip on his shotgun with his right hand.

"Alright. We should probably keep more than one torch out. They burn forever but we might drop them or break them somehow. I'll take one, and, ah, Issin, you take the other for now. We'll switch torch carriers at some point." He deliberately tapped the torch at its base. A white circle appeared for half a second as the system recognized the item activation, and then the top of the torch erupted with illuminating flame.

"Fuurinkazan, let's go!"

* * *

More than an hour later, they hit the bottom of the second staircase, and the words in the corners of their views shifted.

«Rho Lower Catacombs»

"Purple-con," Klein noticed instantly. "No unnecessary risks. Let's turn back."

"Wait, Klein," Issin interjected, lifting his torch higher. The antechamber was oblong, extending out into a foyer of some sort. At its end was a doorway, and, beside it, a familiar rectangular container with a slightly curved lid.

"There's a chest right there, other side of the room. Maybe we should snag it before we go."

Klein nodded. Loot from a purple-con area could be valuable to them. "Okay. Just this one room though. We get it and get out. And be _careful_, please."

"This room's empty," Dynamm pointed out. "We'll be fine as long as we don't step through that doorway and trigger spawns." Issin set down his torch, stowed his «Winchester» rifle on his back, and reached down to crack open the container...

And behind them, a grinding noise arose. Klein whirled around to see vertical iron bars descending to block their only exit.

"Damn!" He dropped his «Remington» shotgun, threw aside his torch, and sprinted forwards, ramming his shoulder into the bars. They forced him back, lighting up with a patchwork of purple hexagons labeled with the «immortal object» tag.

"Nice going, Issin," Kunimittz grumbled.

"Sorry," Issin said. "It's not like I knew what would happen..."

"Right," Klein said, reaching down to retrieve his weapon. "Not your fault. Doesn't look like those bars are budging, but the game wouldn't just lock us in here forever. I'm guessing there's another exit if we push onwards."

"But Leader, it's a purple-con zone," protested Harry One, clutching his «M1 Carbine» tightly.

Klein sighed. "I don't like it, but unless you just want to rot here forever, moving on is our only option. Issin, what's in that chest?"

Issin flipped the hinged lid fully open, and his eyes widened. "Take a look..."

Within, propped horizontally on its bipod and stock, was a massive rifle. Its barrel and bolt-action system were colored a sleek gunmetal gray. On its end was the blocky metal frame of a muzzle brake. Atop was an hourglass-shaped 10x magnification optical sight. Its stock and trigger contrasted with a finish of sleek tan wood.

"That is..." Issin started.

"...a hell of a gun." Klein finished. He tapped it, bringing up its item status window. "«PGM Hécate II»," he read. "Anti-materiel rifle. Bolt action. 12.7x99mm ammunition. Weight, 14 kilos... Required «STR» to wield..." He blinked. "Hey, Dale, out of all of us, you've got the most points allocated to strength, right?"

The plump man thumped his chest. "Damn straight, Leader! Armor bonuses put me at twenty-five."

"Freaking..." Klein growled. "«STR» requirement is _sixty_. Ah well. You weren't planning on going the sniper route anyways, right, Dale?" The man nodded.

When players leveled up, they could choose to increase either their strength or their dexterity, abbreviated «STR» and «DEX». Strength points increased one's maximum carry weight, made holding heavier items feel easier, and granted better control over recoil: aim reticules would expand less after shots. Dexterity points granted faster movement speed, sped up auto-reloads, and improved first-shot accuracy for most weapons: aim reticules would shrink to a smaller minimum size.

Additionally, strength boosted overall accuracy with what the system considered «power weapons»: shotguns, light machine guns, and other high-caliber firearms, whereas dexterity gave a similar boost to «precision weapons»: rifles, sniper weapons, and the like. Some weapons like anti-materiel rifles fit into both categories, receiving both accuracy boosts. Others, like SMGs, received neither, which served to balance out their early-game high rate of fire.

Naturally, no numerical accuracy bonuses affected «Focus Fire». The strength stat was considered the only one to affect «Focus Fire» ability in any way, as higher strength made heavy weapons easier to hold.

Furthermore, some high-tier weapons, like the «Hécate», had strength requirements. A player not meeting the requirements could still carry and fire the weapon, but would receive no numerical bonuses from stats or skills. This meant its damage would be minimal and its accuracy abysmal.

"Hmm," Klein mused, storing the rifle in his inventory. "Even so... we could still get some use out of it, no? We'll have to find an appraiser to look at it. I wonder what its damage stats are like..."

He shrugged. "Well, doesn't matter. Let's get going. Harry, take my torch. Issin, peek for us. What's in there?"

Issin leaned through the door, holding out his torch. "Big place... buncha columns... a big shiny sculpture in the center of em... there's this lump of something just a few feet in. Can't tell what it is."

"Okay," Klein said, readying his shotgun. "Move in, guys. Remember, it's a purple area. Be ready for anything."

The six of them stormed through the doorway, spreading out in the room beyond: an enormous round chamber. The ceiling was curved in a dome, supported by six thick stone pillars evenly spaced around the room's center. Between them was a huge structure of chrome silver metal. Klein couldn't quite tell what it was supposed to represent, but it had an organic shape. Chrome appendages extended from a central body, a curved bulk with a surface made of overlapping chrome sheets, like shingles on a roof.

The lump of something that Issin had been unable to identify was now plainly visible: the form of a girl, lying unconscious on her side. Her hair was jet black, and she wore a plain green tunic and simple brown leggings. A pistol was in her hand, and a green cursor floated over her head.

"A player?" Kunimittz wondered. "What are they doing? How'd they get in here ahead of us?"

Klein reached her and knelt by her side. "Hey," he said, shaking her shoulder. "You alright?"

"Wuh," she mumbled, refusing to open her eyes. "Ugh..."

Dale gave her a once-over. "Cloth armor and a «Glock 19»," he assessed. "Starting equipment. Definitely not equipped for this place. And... she's a girl."

"_Very_ observant. You get a gold star for that one, Dale. Hey," Klein said, slightly louder. "Wakey wakey. Purple-con... What a place to be taking a nap..."

Her eyes opened slowly. "Sine..." she murmured. "sine... qua..."

"Uh, what's that?"

She bolted upright, her irises flicking side to side rapidly. "What," she said, her hold on her pistol visibly tightening. "Who are you?"

"Name's Klein," he replied, as cheerfully as he could manage. "This plump fella goes by Dale, and those four there are the marksman Issin, prospective machine-gunner Harry, dedicated pistoler Dynamm, and angry old Kunimittz. Sorry if we disturbed you."

Her free hand rubbed at her eyes. "Disturbed? Me?"

She continued to stare blankly at Klein, as if waiting for an answer. He wasn't sure what she was asking. "Uh... yeah. We didn't think anyone had gone into this dungeon yet. This is a dangerous area. We were just about to leave when-Wait, you got all the way in here without triggering the trap? That means..."

"Trap?"

Klein nervously scratched his rough hair. "Uh. Well, you see, we may have, uh, sealed ourselves in here by opening a chest..."

"...sealed?" the girl said.

Harry One found a wall-mounted torch bracket and dropped Klein's flame into it. In a scripted sequence, corresponding torches on each of the six pillars lit up as well. The lighting of the brackets immediately boosted the gamma levels in the room.

Issin, Dynamm, and Kunimittz stepped past the pillars, closer to the central structure, now visible in much greater detail. The metallic extensions were segmented, their sections linked with round metal joints. Klein noticed now that the some of the appendages were different. The one closest to them was rather plain, a stubby, yet still segmented piece of metal resting on the floor like a tripod leg. But one appendage extending from the top of the central bulk was much larger, suspending broad sheets of overlapping metal similar to the central body's coating up in the air, like some kind of wing...

_Wait,_ Klein thought. _Wing? Oh, crap..._

The metal structure groaned, and then suddenly every little articulated part burst into motion. The wing bent inwards. The stubby leg lifted itself. A third appendage, with a whirring of motors, lifted itself above the central body; the intricate metalwork on its end unmistakably depicted triangular eyes, an elongated snout, and rows of sharp teeth. Between them was not a tongue; instead, peeking out were six ominous steel tubes, linked in a circular sheath: the business end of an iconic «GE M134 Minigun», a death machine capable of spewing, when running at full speed, a hundred rifle-caliber projectiles in a second, built directly into the anatomy of the creature.

Above the metallic beast, a purple cursor appeared, followed immediately by ten curved HP bars, and then by the creature's name: «Mk1 Mechanical Dragon Guardian».

"That's inaccurate," Dale noted as the six barrels in the beast's mouth began to spin up. "Dragons have four legs. Two legs and two wings is technically a wyvern-"

"SHUT IT AND TAKE COVER!" Klein ordered. Issin, Dynamm and Kunimittz scrambled out of the central area and back behind one of the columns. Klein gave the girl a light shove, and she quickly got to her feet. She, Klein, Dale and Harry dove behind the neighboring column, just as a buzz-roar of gunfire erupted and a hail of 7.62x51mm bullets hosed where they'd been standing.

The dragon stepped towards them on its surprisingly dexterous legs, the slow flaps of its massive wings sending gusts through the circular chamber.

"Why would it activate right _now_?" Kunimittz shouted angrily. "Hasn't she been in this room awhile already?"

"Probably because Harry lit those torches," Dale guessed. "Light-sensitive, maybe."

"So," Klein said, cradling his shotgun. Bullets continued to ricochet off the coppery floor beside them, the stream of impacts slowly digging a divot. "Didn't catch your name, miss..."

"Shi... Sinon. That's it. Sinon."

"Well, Sinon. Looks like we've gotten ourselves into a bit of an impromptu boss fight here. I know it's kind of our fault, but everyone's gotta pull a bit of weight, but I don't want anyone dying. May I ask what level you are?"

"I haven't... um... level fifteen, now."

"Seriously?" Klein himself was only level twelve. Fuurinkazan's average level was closer to eleven. "You're wearing starting equipment. Is there some reason for that, or..."

Dynamm leaned out from his pillar, taking potshots at the dragon with a «Mauser C96» —semi-automatic, firing relatively powerful cartridges out of a 10 round magazine—a high quality pistol for their tier. But the ten rounds in total barely made a dent in the dragon's top HP bar, and Dynamm had to retreat back into cover as the stream of minigun fire was turned towards him.

"Leader, this isn't really the time to be sharing life stories!" Kunimittz pointed out. "We need a strategy!"

Klein nodded. "Okay. Let's think about this. The minigun is powerful, but because it's in his mouth, its aim is restricted by how fast he can turn. His «aggro» seems to go to whoever last attacked him. If we take turns peeking and firing, we can get in free shots. Got it, everyone?"

There was a chorus of 'aye's from the men, and Sinon gave a slight nod.

* * *

Ten minutes later, the boss still had nine health bars left. And they were nearly out of ammunition.

"This may be a problem," Dale observed.

"What's everyone's ammo count?" Klein asked.

"Last magazine."

"Two shells left."

"I'm out."

"Fewer rounds left than Dale's had girlfriends."

"Same here-wait, what's that supposed to mean?"

Sinon just wordlessly shook her head.

"Not good," Klein summarized. "At this rate..."

"Hey, Leader," Issin said. "What about that big rifle that was in that chest? It's pretty darn convenient for that thing to be placed just before a boss like this."

"Hmm." Klein summoned the «PGM Hécate II», his knees bending slightly from its weight. "According to its status window, it's loaded. Seven rounds in its magazine."

He peeked around the pillar. The minigun was suppressing the other pillar, so Klein aimed the rifle as well as he could. The green circle in his vision was massive, but so was his target. He planted his feet, made sure the gun was firm on his shoulder, and fired. Even so, the recoil sent him stumbling backwards.

The plainly-fired round exploded outwards, exhaust gases directed outwards from the box of the Hecate's muzzle brake. It impacted the dragon in its abdomen, digging a red pixilated scar in its armor and cutting a third off of its ninth health bar. Instantly, the dragon abandoned its previous target and turned on Klein, driving him back behind the pillar with Sinon.

"Good hit, Leader!" Harry One said. It was indeed more damage than any of their other weapons had managed to do in a single shot: impressive, especially given that Klein had neither the skill points for its weapon class nor the strength point allocation for its effective equipping.

But still... "It's not good enough," Dale realized. "We're all out, and that gun only has six bullets left. Try «Focus Fire»? It's listed as anti-materiel; maybe it can punch through the wyvern's armor."

Klein scratched his chin, shoving back the «Hécate»'s bolt to eject the spent casing. "Okay. Someone over there on the other pillar, get his attention!"

"Last bullet!" Issin warned, leaning and firing with his «Winchester» rifle. The bullet plinked against the dragon's neck, and the minigun rotated away from Klein to spray in Issin's direction.

Ramming the bolt forwards again to load a new round, Klein stepped out from his pillar once more. He took a deep breath and held it, tensing his muscles, focusing intently on the bulky weapon in his hands... and nothing happened. After a few seconds, the dragon noticed him standing there and dropped its «aggro» on Issin, twisting its neck back around towards Klein, who ducked back into cover.

"Damn," he said. "I tried, but no good. It felt... harder, somehow. Dale, any idea why?"

Dale shrugged. "I dunno. I hear that the bigger a gun is, the harder it is to do «Focus Fire» with it. You know how sometimes when you do it you get that feeling like you know exactly how the gun's working, what parts are moving and whatnot? There's some rumor that you gotta _think_ about that stuff too while you do it... but that's basically BS; there's no way a NerveGear could check something _that_ detailed. None of us are really able to do «Focus Fire» too well anyways. Dynamm's been practicing, but he only managed it twice after like an hour of trying... Klein, when's the last time you've tried?"

"Tried? I tried two minutes ago with my shotgun, but yeah, that didn't go so well. Last time I actually did it was... yesterday, actually, on a field mob with my pistol. You think there's really truth to bigger guns being harder to «Focus Fire»?"

"It makes sense for balance reasons," Dale said. "Snipers would be really overpowered otherwise. That's probably also why we haven't seen any actual sniper rifle weapons yet. Some are saying snipers aren't in the game at all, but I'm betting they're all on deeper floors. The devs probably expect that we'll be more proficient with «Focus Fire» by the time we run into them. Look at this boss's health, for instance. We're definitely not supposed to be here at our level..."

"More proficient?"

"Yeah. Not like with skill points, just becoming better at it with practice, maybe like getting better at concentrating..."

"What did I say," Kunimittz groveled from behind his pillar, "about sharing life stories while we're fighting a fucking robot dragon?"

"Wyvern," Dale corrected.

"God damn it, Dale. It looks like a dragon, walks like a dragon, spits metaphorical fire like a dragon, and it's fucking named a dragon by the game. I'm calling it a dragon."

"Well, you're wrong. And what part of a fruitful discussion about «Focus Fire» do you consider 'sharing life stories'? If we don't figure out a way to take down this wyvern, we'll be stuck in here for the foreseeable-"

"Let me try," interrupted the soft voice of Sinon.

"You?" Dale asked. "Miss, I don't think you get it. It takes concentration to make «Focus Fire» work-"

"Dale, stop being sexist," Klein said, offering the gun to her with both hands. "She's level fifteen, after all."

She nearly dropped it at first, but once she got a feel for its weight, she could handle it, as far as Klein could tell, at least as well as he could.

Without any further warning, she sprinted out of cover. The minigun was still aimed in their general direction, and the dragon's head turned, dragging the stream of lead after her. But before the bullets reached her, she stopped on her heels, shifted her weight forwards, gazed into the scope for half a second, and then fired. The «Hécate» whited out the entire room with its radiance, far brighter than a muzzle flash. A horrid crunching sound like a car being crushed filled the air.

It took Klein a second to figure out what had happened. The six-barreled death machine imbedded in the dragon's maw had been struck dead-on, punching out several of the barrels, causing the imbalanced centrifugal force of its spinning to fling the mechanism apart. The dragon flapped its massive sheet-metal wings in rage, spewing torn scrap metal from its jaws.

Sinon wasn't finished. Her second shot, also in «Focus Fire», smashed the joint where the dragon's left wing linked to its body. The wing crumpled, and without any ability to lift its left side, the dragon's body hit the ground as well. It bent its head up, turning it towards her, but she fired a third blinding shot into a joint low on its neck, sending the head of the beast down as well.

When all was done, the dragon had just four health bars remaining, and, apart from the whirring of a non-functional minigun and lame flapping of its remaining wing, it was completely immobilized.

Klein ran up beside her. "Holy. Hell. Sinon. That was amazing. Are your strength stats high enough to get bonuses for that thing? Have you trained the «skill» for it? Wait, no, that's not possible, there haven't been any sniper weapons available yet... Sinon?"

She was staring into the cold chrome of the dragon's side, intently examining her reflection, looking at herself for the first time in a week.

_Who am I, again?_

In the flickering torchlight, she saw that reserved face of Asada Shino, that poor, sick high-schooler, incomplete without her glasses. _What did I just do?_

A rush of pain like a migraine swept over her. She clutched her head and dropped to her knees. _Who am I..._

Klein set down his gun and crouched down. "Hey... it's okay... you must have been through a lot before we came down here. We're all fine now."

She reached out a hand for her reflection in the chrome. "No," she whispered, tears falling from her eyes. "Me... I don't even know who I am..."

Klein was puzzled. "...don't know who you are? Do you have amnesia?"

"Amnesia?" she murmured. "I wish. Wouldn't that be... _convenient_..."

Klein wasn't sure what to do. He tried comforting her, reaching out to hug her, but she shoved him away and stood again.

Not only did she stand, but she stood holding the «PGM Hécate II», with which she had just proved she had impossible proficiency, and aimed it waveringly in Klein's direction. He held up his hands and took a worried step back.

"WOULDN'T IT BE CONVENIENT!?" she shouted at the top of her lungs. She turned the gun on the reflective shell of the mechanical dragon. As her next words were screamed out, she unleashed the remaining rounds in the «Hécate», each one causing a stifling sunburst of yellow. "IF I WASN'T... HALF... BROKEN!"

The end of the «Hécate» hissed with smoke. Sinon planted the butt of the gun on the floor and slowly sank back to a sitting position, breathing heavily. Placed vertically beside her, the weapon's size was apparent; the gun was nearly as tall as she was. The chrome side of the dragon remained, just barely, as the dragon's final HP bar showed a sliver of red.

"Broken..." she whispered. "I'm... broken... _who... am I_..."

Klein carefully approached her. The rest of Fuurinkazan, understandably spooked, stayed a good distance back. "Hey," he said. "Look. I can't claim to understand what you're going through. I don't know if it happened before you got stuck in here, or if it happened just in this week... hell, I probably shouldn't even be saying stuff like that, making you think of it, whatever it is. But that, just now, was the most perfect shooting I've ever seen. Sinon, you just probably saved the lot of us. You're not broken."

"I'm not me," she said. "Sinon... Sinon is not me. Sinon exists to repair me."

Klein pulled out his «Glock 19», its magazine containing a single leftover bullet. He held it out to her, grip first. "But you are Sinon, Sinon. If Sinon exists to repair you, then make her exist. Don't let whatever broke you win."

She again looked at her reflection in the chrome. Black eyes looked back at her.

_It's a shame, Sinon. Blue really suited you better. But it'll do._

She accepted the offered pistol, turned it at the chrome and fired. The final slice of the defeated boss's health vanished, and blue particles rushed around them as the model—and her reflection—shattered into nothing.

Back behind them, in the antechamber through which they had entered, invulnerable iron bars lifted, granting them the exit they desired.

* * *

In the dark loneliness of an immense computational void, a girl with a soul of morning dew felt a pain in her heart slightly fade, and wiped away her tears, ceasing her crying, at least for a short little while.

* * *

Kirito woke and found himself _standing_, his neck bent back, giving him a clear view of a perfectly white sky.

Looking down, he saw his legs, but not his feet, for he stood in the center of a circular patch of ankle-high flowers, extending out several meters in all directions. Shades of red, pink, and white were predominant, but there were flecks of yellow, streaks of darker purple, and slips of green matching the flowers' stems. Beyond and beneath the flowers was a stark white floor matching the blank sky, extending out as far as Kirito could see.

Kirito reached down and picked a flower, whose stem offered little resistance and was pulled with it. The petals, white with crescents of red running through them, curled and overlapped like those of a rose, but their edges were ruffled and bent outwards, giving the blossom a wild, chaotic side. He wondered how such flowers could grow out of such a cold, hard surface.

"Do you like it?"

Kirito turned, and saw a man standing behind him. He wore a colorless lab coat, almost camouflaging his body with the sky and floor. His hair was short and gray, and his face was long. Kirito easily recognized him.

"Akihiko Kayaba," he said. "You're supposed to be dead."

"Who says I'm not?" the man replied. "Kirito, right? Welcome, Kirito, to my home. What do you think?"

"What do you mean? What am I doing here? Is this a dream?" Kirito reached out with his right hand and swiped in the air, but no menu appeared. Yet he had on his plain leather equipment, and when he rapidly looked up and down, his view became artificially blurred, a sign of his NerveGear renderer struggling to keep up with his input.

"These flowers," Kayaba said, crouching down and running his hand over the blossoms, "are called «carnations». Fitting, isn't it? Even though I had nothing to do with the naming of the game... look at these flowers, Kirito. That one in your hand, even. Red and white, linked in a beautiful vortex of nature..."

Kirito stared at the crouching man. "Who are you? No, I know that. _What_ are you?"

Kayaba closed his eyes, remaining crouched, letting his hands rest on the bed of flowers. "Kirito," he said after a long pause, ignoring Kirito's question. "Is it possible... for a dead person... to feel alone?"

Kirito was caught off guard by the query. "Dead? Alone?" Kirito examined the ring of carnations around him. _This place is bizarre. I can't open my menu, so it's not a normal game area. Why is Kayaba here? _ He looked back, and the man was gone. "Where are you?" Kirito shouted into the blank white sky. "What is this place?! Explain yourself!"

But then the sky was no longer empty. Thick mist boiled out of it down towards him, limiting his vision to just a few feet in front of him, obscuring the endless floor.

"Nice talking to you, Kirito," a disembodied voice said into his ear, like a ghost in the wind. "Best of luck."

"No!" Kirito forced out. "Give me answers! What are you?! And why trap us in this game? _Kayaba!_"

The mist grew thicker, to the point where he could no longer see even his arm, and the world of flowers and white was wiped away...

* * *

Kirito stared up into the worried face of Asuna, and for a moment thought he was still dreaming, the red of her cloak and the white of her tunic underneath contrasting just like the petals of the flower that had been in his hand.

Upon seeing him move, the girl's expression softened.

"He'll be okay," a deep voice reassured. Kirito turned his head to the left and saw the voice belonged to Agil, the LMG wielding giant.

Kirito propped himself up with his elbows. "The boss... what happened?"

"Defeated," Agil answered with a smile. "Just a few seconds after he clonked you." He offered Kirito his hand, and Kirito gladly took it, rising to his feet.

The raid group was in jubilation.

"We did it!"

"Look at all of this loot!"

Perhaps the most profound thought of all, though, that ran through all their minds was this:

"We can win. This game is possible."

Diabel was standing to the side, but moved over to them once Kirito was standing. "This victory," he told them, "is yours. Miss, your accuracy was incredible. And Kirito, that charge was brave, and just the distraction we needed."

"Uh..." Kirito stammered. "It was nothing. The boss got the better of me, actually. I almost died there. Really, your leadership made the difference. Your callouts for squad switches were perfect. They're the reason we're all still alive."

"No," Diabel insisted. "Not perfect. We were losing. Miss, your shooting came at an absolutely critical time. You may have been the MVP of this battle." He leaned in close and lowered his voice. "And Kirito... I remember you. The famous «last attack»-chasing soloer... that was you, right?"

_So Diabel had indeed been in the beta._ Kirito gulped. "...Right."

Diabel smiled. "Good. Kirito, remember this: you are a good man. I'm sure many would look up to you if they knew you were a beta tester, but it seems you don't want that attention, so I won't say anything... Continue being solo, if you wish. Become as strong as you can. We need people like you, like you and her, to be our «knights», our spearhead. Us beta testers, we have to stand strong, be the leaders the others need us to be. I may be able to lead one way, but you lead, even by being solo, in a way of your own..."

Diabel straightened. "Without the two of you here, we might have suffered a defeat. So... I received the «last attack» bonus item. But it's not really my style, and I think you deserve it more than I. It's yours."

He flicked open his inventory and transferred a single item to Asuna. She looked at him, perplexed. "You're giving it to me?"

Diabel nodded. "Like I said. Your shooting was what allowed us to win this battle, miss. It's rightfully yours."

The item details appeared before her. "«Coat of Midnight»," she read. She turned to Kirito, but he shook his head. "No, no, it's yours."

Asuna carefully navigated her menu, storing her red cloak, which, with a light burst of particles, vanished from her shoulders. She equipped the new coat, and it flapped into existence around her: a sheet of pitch black leather, complete with sleeves, whose back stretched nearly all the way down to the floor around her ankles.

She shrugged her shoulders, adjusting to the long black coat, and lifted her arms, testing their range of motion, pleasantly surprised to find it unrestricted.

It was impressive, but Kirito thought its aesthetic didn't really fit her. The black contrasted harshly with her chestnut hair, and Kirito found she looked slightly uncomfortable wearing it... _Maybe I'm just jealous._

Agil grinned and crossed his bulky arms. "We beat it," he reiterated. "I think there's a new word we can call ourselves, both beta testers and non-beta testers. We're «beaters». We're the ones who will beat this game."

"Hear, hear!" one of his squadmates agreed. "Beaters, that's what we are!" He cupped hands around his mouth and shouted towards the ceiling. "Floor one hundred, d'you hear us? That's right, us beaters are coming for you! We're going to go all the way, us beaters! You'd better be ready for all of us!"

_Beater?_ Kirito admitted he liked the sound of it. "All the way," he echoed. "All of us..."

_Beaters. This is just a game. We can win._

"Hey, wait," someone called from the far end of the large room, the side they had entered from. "No one noticed this before? There's this big... glowing... _thing_ over here! Everyone, look!"

They gathered around. Kirito tried to put a name to the object, but nothing came to mind. It was some kind of energized pillar, made of some ethereal magenta substance, almost like light, but more physical. It seemed to flow from the floor, originating from an obscured ring several feet in diameter, rising up in a spiraling double helix that terminated at the ceiling.

"That's... new," Kirito said. "I don't think this was in the beta..."

Diabel shook his head. "No. It certainly wasn't."

Kirito shouldered his way closer to the pillar. He hesitantly reached out and touched it.

The helix hummed, and then its color changed. Teal light spread from the floor and overtook the magenta. When the whole pillar was converted to the greenish-blue, a dialogue box appeared in Kirito's vision.

_"«Energy Relay» activated_," he read. _"«Relay» aligned to Alpha. Floor Two safe zones enabled. «Engineering» skill unlocked for all Alpha players...?_"

"«Engineering skill»?" Agil wondered aloud. "What's that supposed to mean?"

* * *

_Coming soon..._

"Liz... Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Oh, yeah! It's not like it's _real_ manufacturing. Have I ever told you about my math grades? I _hated_ that class. Our ditzy teacher always told us how important math is for all those fancy jobs, blah blah, being an engineer pays oh-so-well, la-de-dah... I'd never do something like this for _real_..."

"Liz. You're worrying me."

"Sorry, Asuna. But hey, I'm done! Look at it! Isn't it great?"

"...This thing?"

"You're supposed to be impressed now."

* * *

She retrieved the blade and then crouched down next to him. "Lookie here," she said, pulling an item from her inventory. "See this?"

It was a fist-sized metal pod, with futuristic red glowing lines crisscrossing its surface: a «Nano-Medkit», an expensive one-time-use item that would remove all status effects and instantly restore a player's health to full.

"If I don't use this," she said frankly, "you're going to die."

"Damn... you..."

"Now, now. No need for such hard words. You tried to kill me, but I'm willing to overlook that fact... if you're willing to give me a bit of information."

* * *

Author's Note: Love it? Hate it? All feedback is appreciated. Thanks for reading!


	5. Fallen Petals

**Castle Carnation**

~Chapter 5~

_"It is forbidden to kill... therefore all murderers are punished, unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets."_

_-Voltaire_

The blue-haired player pulled back his hand, and circles of light filled in the space under the nondescript archway of stone.

"«Teleport Gate» activated," Diabel read off the pop-up window. "«Gate» aligned to Alpha... Kirito, that's just like what the message for the «Relay» said, right?"

"That's right."

"Hmm." He looked over the group of assembled players. "Well. Beaters, I suppose this is where we part, to go our own ways once more. It was a pleasure fighting alongside all of you. May we meet again when the next boss requires our efforts!"

With that, the forty four players dispersed into the sparse streets of «Urbus», the main settlement of the second floor. They'd come there together, following a sort of tradition that had been established during the beta test: the victorious trek of the boss's conquerors to activate the floor's main Teleport Gate. With the gate active, players in possession of rare one-use «Nano Translocation Beacon» items, or standing at any other town gate, could travel there with a simple voice command.

Players began to stream in through the gate now, eager to explore the untouched realms of the second floor.

Kirito crossed his arms, waiting patiently for one particular player to make an appearance.

"Can I ask you something?"

The question came from Asuna, standing slightly behind him in her «Coat of Midnight». Kirito still wasn't quite used to seeing her in it. "Oh, Asuna. Sure, what is it?"

She frowned. "That! How do you know that? You said it during the boss fight, too!"

"Wait, what?"

"My name!" she clarified. "How do you know my name? I never..."

Kirito smiled. "Heh... We're still partied, right? Look at the top left of your view, where your health bar is. There's another one under it, right? And it's got a name on it?"

Her eyes flicked upwards. "Ki..ri...to. You're Kirito?"

"All this time, you haven't noticed the other bar up there?"

She placed a hand on her forehead. "Hah... I feel silly now. This whole time... and here I thought you were some kind of creepy stalker, finding out my name without even asking me..."

The teleport gate emitted a high ring. When the noise and accompanying light effects faded, a short player stood before them.

"Hey, Ki-bou," Argo greeted. "And you... oh, you must be Asuna! «Girl of the Eagle Eyes», vanquisher of the great Kobold Lord! Name's Argo. You may know of me as «The Rat». Pleasure to meet you!"

Asuna's jaw hung open. "Uh... hello. How do you... «Girl of the Eagle Eyes»? Where did that come from?"

"Word travels fast, I guess," Kirito suggested.

"Yep. The boss died, what, twenty minutes ago? Around the same time I started getting info on what happened. Something about a girl with vision like an eagle's who saved everyone, and some crazy idiot who ran in and got his dumb butt knocked out... sound familiar?"

Kirito grunted in protest. "Hmph. Look, my strategy was perfectly sound! It was a good distraction. Anyway... Asuna, this is Argo. She's the one who put together the boss guide."

Asuna bowed slightly. "Ah... Nice to meet you, Argo-san."

"Not just the boss guide! «Preliminary 2nd Floor Area Guide» available now from most vendors, just a hundred col." She winked.

"Argo, I'd like to see you try and _not_ advertise anything of yours for just five minutes."

"...I'll do it for fifty col."

"I'm tempted."

"Uh, Argo-san?" Asuna said. "What's with the «Girl of the Eagle Eyes»? That can't be... me?"

"'Course it is," Argo replied. "It's hot news right now. People are saying Miss «Eagle Eyes» pretty much single-handedly defeated the boss, and the raid leader gave her the «Last Attack» bonus item for it. See any other girls here with light brown hair and wearing black long coats?"

"See any other girls here, period?" Kirito revised for her.

Asuna cast her attention around and became aware of more than one person looking in her direction, pointing, talking... _It's like I'm in high school again. I just received the highest score possible on a big exam, and everyone knows. It feels familiar..._

* * *

She feels like she's a machine.

She wakes, exactly on time. She's experienced waking later, experienced the resulting scolding, and resolved to never do so again.

She goes to school. She takes meticulous notes. She comes home, and she studies them, intently. Each semester, she brings back a report card, lined with A after A after A. Her parents don't congratulate, don't say a thing. They expect this of her. They explain this sometimes. She's going to take this class and that class next year. That'll set up prerequisites. That'll make colleges take notice, if they hadn't already from the donations.

She feels inorganic. She feels rigid. She feels as though her life is pre-programmed.

She's stressed. She's nervous. But she's accepting, of a future chosen for her, of a present less personalized than an assembly line.

Today will change that.

The professor glances down at her. "Ah, Miss Yuuki? Do you need something?"

"Ah, yes, Sensei. I was looking at the mock exam results... and... Are you certain those results are correct?"

"Quite sure, Miss Yuuki. Is something the matter?"

"It's just... my scores... they aren't what I expected."

As she leaves the room, she hears her classmates whispering in the halls.

"I heard that Asuna did badly. Didn't even get in the top ten."

"Don't say things like that! Yuuki-senpai is-"

"No, I've seen the scores myself. She acts like she's so smart, tells us we shouldn't do this, do that, blah-blah, and then along comes the day of the test, and guess what happens? Who's smug and superior now? I'll bet she doesn't even study that hard herself."

"Yeah, she's probably an otaku..."

"Maybe she secretly plays games..."

She doesn't speak to anyone on the way home. She doesn't know what to think. She doesn't know what to say.

Her mother knows exactly what to say.

"I'm disappointed in you. All the time spent preparing, and you produce results like these on an assessment of such importance... Are you even really focusing? I'm hearing rumors that you're slacking. You know that games rot your brain, Asuna."

"I'm not-"

"And lying is even worse. Do you feel ashamed, Asuna? Because I feel ashamed of you."

She's left there, alone, almost in tears. But she doesn't cry. She won't cry. They are just words, words have no power, words cannot cut like a sword, pierce like a bullet, words are meaningless, words are just words...

But they aren't, not when they come from _her_. So she cries. She cries because of words that are more than words, words that cause more wounds than bullets.

Her brother is there. He talks to her. But his words are just words. He has to leave. He has business. He leaves something, a solid state drive, on the table in front of her. He tells her the door to his room is unlocked.

She looks at the SSD, registers the stylized «CC» printed on it. And she picks it up. And she walks up the stairs, and through the open door to her brother's room. She picks up a quick-start manual and reads it through, with all the efficiency befitting of an honor roll student.

She rams the SSD into a port, and flips its cover closed.

She takes a strange device, one that she's never touched before, and places it on her head.

Her mother won't check on her. She never checks on her.

Words are just words.

She owns her future.

"Link Start."

* * *

_«Girl of the Eagle Eyes»? That's... no._

_I'm in over my head._

Kirito waved a hand in front of her eyes. "Asuna? You alright?"

Asuna shook off the twisted memory. "One moment. How do you give someone an item?"

"Uh, do a trade?"

She swiped open her inventory and unequipped the black coat. Kirito saw the trade offer appear before him: 1x «Coat of Midnight» in exchange for nothing.

"Huh? You're giving that to me? You just got it..."

"I don't care. It's yours. Nice meeting you." Without even waiting for him to accept the trade, she turned on her heels and walked off, her old red hood appearing around her.

"Wait..."

But she was gone, her footsteps fading around the street corner.

Kirito sighed. "I guess I'll have to catch up to her. I haven't dissolved the party yet."

"You can dissolve the party without her being there," Argo pointed out teasingly. "Are you sure that's your motive for wanting to..."

"Quiet. That'd be impolite."

They sat together on the short steps leading up to the teleport gate. "So," Kirito asked. "did you find it?"

"Nooope," she reported. "There was no K-L-E-I-N anywhere on that wall."

Kirito narrowed his eyes, deep in thought. "So... if he's not there, and only five thousand names are listed... half the players are actually missing?"

"I don't think it's as simple as that. I know a fair number of former beta testers. If half the players got randomly culled, some of them would be missing. They're not; everyone who said they'd be playing are playing. All the beta testers are with us."

Argo took a deep breath and then grinned. "Ah. I really should be charging you for that, Ki-bou. Straight from the mind of «the Rat»... Maybe I could start advertising my analysis. How does «Col for my thoughts» sound? Too pretentious? Probably."

"Hey, I already paid you quite a fee for just teleporting to Alpha, looking at a wall, and then coming here. You didn't even have to leave a safe zone."

Argo held up a hand. "Oh, about that. I'm hearing something unexpected happened after the boss fight. There was some pillar thing? «Energy Relay»?" She swished open her menu and transferred 500 col to him, her standard offering for new information.

Kirito accepted the money, though he would have told her about it anyways. "Sound about right. My memory's not as good as yours, but the message window said something about aligning to Alpha, activating the safe zones... and unlocking that «Engineering» skill."

"Activating safe zones... Before, all safe zones were always active. Now they have to be turned on? You touched the light thing to activate it, right?"

"Yeah." Kirito gestured at the teleport gate behind them. "When Diabel turned on the gate, he got a similar message about the gate 'aligning to Alpha.'"

She tapped her chin. "Hmmm. 'Aligning to Alpha.' Align to alpha..."

"Trying to say something? Or am I going to have to subscribe to your new «Col for Argo's Thoughts» service?" Kirito jested.

"Nah. It's just... interesting." She stood. "Anyways, I'll be going. I've got something important to do on this floor."

"Important? Not your regular information gathering, then?"

"Well, no..."

Kirito rolled his eyes. "I swear, Argo, you're a real expensive person to be friends with. I'm curious. How much?"

"...I could put a price on it, but if you actually paid it, I'd worry for your mental health. Just know it's got something to do," she deftly pulled out a curved throwing knife, "with these."

Kirito stood up next to her. "Now I'm really curious. Don't tell me you found a «throwing knife» skill... wait, is this your legendary hundred-thousand col whisker-explaining quest?"

She shook her head, choosing not to answer. "Good luck with Asu-chan!" she called as she walked away.

"So does that mean... wait, luck? Why would I need luck?"

"Fifty thousand col question, right there!"

* * *

"Leader," Issin said as they walked along. "Something's happening."

"If you could be a bit more vague that'd help," Klein suggested sarcastically.

A crowd had amassed on the copper street: an angry crowd, of at least thirty players. They formed a semicircular mob around a small group of five against a building wall. Shouts rung out in rapid succession.

_"What do you have to say for yourselves?"_

_"I knew they were suspicious!"_

"What's going on?" Sinon asked quietly. "Are they criminals?"

Klein grimaced. "No... I don't think so. Let's not get involved, nothing good can come of this..."

_"They're beaters! Dirty beaters!"_

_"Selfish hoarders!"_

From somewhere in the crowd, a rock flew out, striking the wall next to the cornered group.

_"Make 'em give up their items!"_

That remark made Klein shiver. The hundredth floor had a significantly smaller radius than the first. It was small enough, in fact, that barely any of its area was outside of the warm-colored sprawl of City Rho. Perhaps because of this, Rho's safe zone did not cover the entirety of the city. City suburbs and outskirts were unprotected. Low-level monsters could spawn. More alarmingly, players could damage one another.

More stones were flung by the mob, some of them hitting the isolated five, pecking tiny slivers off of their health bars. One of the five raised his arms and shouted back. "I've told you already! You've made a mistake, we're not beta testers! Just-"

_"You god damn beaters, making excuses!"_

He tried to speak again, but was shouted down, his lone voice unable to overcome the anger of so many. He cast his eyes around, desperately looking for help, and made eye contact with Klein.

Fuurinkazan was past the mob, but the pleading desperation in the man's eyes made Klein halt. He grabbed the shoulder of the nearest dissident, pulling him back. "Hey, calm off it! You all are being too... too..."

The man who he'd turned was Kibaou. "You? Too what?" he snarled. "We've finally found the bastards that are responsible for our deaths! I believed you earlier... don't tell me you're one of them too!"

"I'm not!" Klein said, grabbing the shoulder of another man. "But it doesn't matter who they are. It's not directly their fault; they don't deserve this kind of treatment..."

Kibaou abruptly yanked his arm, sending him to the ground. Fuurinkazan saw it happen and rushed to Klein's aid, leaving Sinon standing alone a short ways down the street, extremely confused.

"This guy giving you a problem, Leader?" Dynamm asked as he helped Klein back to his feet.

"Look, _Lea-der_," Kibaou growled mockingly. "Here's the rundown. There's that big honking wall in the center of this city. You wanna know how many names are crossed out on it? Five. hundred. Probably more than five hundred by now. Then these five _pig_ beaters come waltzing out of the floor dungeon, flaunting all they've gotten, at the expense of everyone else's lives. You don't tell me who's in the right and who's in the wrong here!"

"You've got to be kidding me," Klein said. "Do you realize what you're doing? Have you read any history books at all?"

"This isn't about history. It's about now. And right now, these killers need to pay." With that, Kibaou went to rejoin the mob.

_"They're not just hoarders! Have you heard of all the deaths? It's your fault!"_

_"My brother! My brother is dead because of you!"_

_"They're not just beaters. They're murderers!"_

_"You're criminals! You deserve to be punished!"_

_"There's only one punishment that murderers deserve!"_

The frequency of the thrown projectiles increased. Player cursors among the crowd began to turn orange as the system registered purposeful attacks.

The man who had tried to speak took a stance and unholstered his pistol. The mob collectively quieted and took a step back. He spoke again, his voice clear but trembling slightly.

"L-Listen carefully! We are the Moonlit Black Cats! We are not beaters! If you would like us to share our items, we will gladly do so! But we will not allow t-this unprovoked assault t-to continue!"

The other four cornered players pulled out their sidearms as well, looking from side to side.

"_Liars... They drew their guns!"_

_"Outside of the safe zone?"_

_"First the beaters make us die to mobs, now they're gonna try and kill us directly?"_

Guns appeared in the hands of the mob members, until nearly everyone in the street had weapons held ready. Tense seconds passed as the group of five faced down the mass. One side's faces were painted with acute fear. The other's, with suspicion, hatred, rage.

Sinon locked eyes with one of the five, a small girl about her age, of black hair, wearing sky blue clothes and light metal chest armor. The girl's hands shook around her gun. The emotion transmitted through her eyes could only be described as absolute fear.

"Stop it!" Klein shouted. "Everyone calm down and put your guns away! No need to-"

A brave, terribly brave but misguided soul among the crowd tossed a single pebble. It struck the forehead of the girl in blue. Though it only scratched her health, it prompted the other four to lift their pistols, the open ends of the barrels pointed outwards...

And the first shot rang out as a member of the crowd, whose trigger finger was looser than perhaps it should have been, let fear for his own life be the final straw.

The shot was followed shortly by another. And then another. And then the air was filled with the deadly racket of a firefight: A firefight so imbalanced it might as well have been a firing squad.

"Fuck," Klein cursed. "We. Are. Leaving. Right the fuck now."

The six members of Fuurinkazan made haste away down the road. But Sinon remained, her eyes still locked with the trapped girl in blue. The girl stared back at her, and Sinon became aware that the fear was gone from her eyes now. Instead, there was an odd tranquility in her gaze. The girl was hit in the chest by a bullet, and the force of the hit knocked her back, but did nothing to divert her eyes or erase her expression. She saw the girl's hand open, letting her pistol fall to the ground, and saw the girl's mouth move as if she were going to speak, speak to her-

"Sinon!" Klein called. "Let's go!"

Sinon forced herself to look away. _This is the harsh truth of reality. Live with it, Sinon. Accept it. Or will you remain forever weak? Will Asada Shino remain forever broken?_

_No. Sinon will be strong. I will be strong._

She scrambled after the members of Fuurinkazan, but couldn't help closing her eyes as she ran, couldn't hold back tears at the sound of the next gunshot, the sound of a body collapsing into particles, at first sound of the first person dying —dying in the name of justice.

* * *

Unbeknownst to her, an infinitesimal yet insurmountable gulf away, in a realm of absolute black yet absolute power, the morning dew girl pulled her legs close to her chest and cried along with her.

* * *

"Asuna?"

"Yes?" The girl quickly identified the person before her. "You-Kirito? How did you get here?" She stiffened. "Wait, are you stalking me or something!?"

She sat at a small table, in an unremarkable NPC-owned café of «Urbus». Kirito quickly tried to calm her suspicions. "No, of course not! The party menu gave me your general position. We haven't dissolved the squad yet."

She continued to wear a frown from under her red hood. "Dissolve the party?"

"Yeah," Kirito said, sliding into the seat across from her. "Squad members don't just ditch each other. Notice my name still at the top left of your screen? We've got to have a proper send-off." He gestured to pull over an NPC waiter. "Glass of water, please."

"Is there not just a 'dissolve' button in the party menu?"

"A party isn't just about what the _system_ considers a party." Kirito explained. "We fought together. We're partners, no? We ought to share a drink and see each other off. It's tradition, I guess."

The red hood tilted lower. "Not _my_ tradition." Kirito wasn't sure how to take that.

The NPC returned with Kirito's water. He nodded thanks, picked it up in both hands and lifted it to his lips. "Where do you plan on going from here?" he asked, and then took a sip.

"We're idiots."

"Huh?"

"I was thinking about this, and I've realized it doesn't make sense," she said. "Being here on the second floor already makes no sense. It's stupid. Clearing the game will take years anyways, and if I die, all of it will have been in vain. The most logical thing to do would be to stay where it's safe, stay in areas where the toughest enemies can't overcome passive health regeneration... gain levels, and never attempt an area until absolutely prepared, overleveled for it."

"Hmm. Well, when you put it that way..." He sipped again at his water. "That's not what you were telling me yesterday. What happened to 'stagnation being the same as death?'"

"What I mean isn't stagnation, it's being safe. I'm not a gamer like you."

She raised her head, meeting his eyes.

"I am a grade-A student. I'm heading back to Alpha. I'm not being an idiot. I'm going to live through this, and then I'm going to continue with my life."

She stared him down, daring him to argue. Kirito averted his eyes and swished about a mouthful of water, contemplating her words. When he finally thought of an answer, he gulped it down.

"Maybe people on the front lines are just being foolish. Maybe. But I think more than anything we're just afraid."

"Afraid? Wouldn't that be more reason to stay back?"

He swirled the remaining water in the glass around. "It's not a fear of mobs, or even fear of death. It's a fear of falling behind, of being left out."

"Falling behind..."

He set down the glass. "We're all working together to clear the game, but we're in competition. In games like these, there's always certain questions thrown around. Who's the best player? Who has the strongest guild? Who's good enough to fight on the front? Most people on the front aren't there because they really want to clear the game. They're there because the others are there, and it's just human nature to try and be among the best. Players struggle against each other, maybe even more than they struggle against the world. It's a contest. And yes, you're right, it's illogical, it's silly. But it makes sense."

"Is that why you're on the front?" she asked. "Fear of being left out?"

Kirito grinned. "Me? I'm a _gamer_. Some _game_ isn't going to beat me. I'm going to beat _it_." He tossed back the rest of his drink and slammed the empty glass down onto the table. "I'm the kind of person who's willing to attempt red-con areas alone. I'm just the kind of stupid you're talking about, I guess. But look at it this way. If you spend all your time in easy areas, grinding and waiting for repops, what are you doing with your life? When the game is finally beaten, it'll be those on the front who'll have done all the work, and your effort will have gone to waste.

"Who lives in the real world without taking risks? Every second spent standing on the side of a street is a second a driver could veer off and hit you. But for your life to get anywhere, you need to be on that sidewalk sometimes. Sometimes you might need to get on a train, even though a fault in any one of thousands of parts could cause a derailment, cause your life to end..."

He straightened his back. "So, Asuna. I can't blame you if you want to head back to Alpha and take it slow. But you were great in the boss fight we just had. In a way, we have more control over our mortality in this world than we do the real one. No train _here_ we be derailed due to circumstances we can't foresee... If you keep going strong, join up with a guild, I don't think you'll die. No—someone as good as you, there's no chance you'll die. Well, you've at least got far less a chance of dying than me. And with enough of us beaters really trying at it, maybe this game can be cleared faster than we can predict."

Asuna examined his expression carefully. He still wore a trace of that grin.

_Maybe he's right. Maybe I can actually do this. When I first got here, I was so angry, angry at my family, angry at Kayaba Akihiko... I wasn't thinking. Now I've had a moment, and I've caught my breath. I didn't think I could do this. I didn't think I could play a game. But this isn't so different from what I'm used to: A struggle for the top. Like staying up late, studying, not to ace a test, but to do better than everyone else._

_I'll become the strongest. I'll clear this game, and I'll go back to my life._

"Why aren't you wearing the coat?" she asked him.

"Oh, the «Coat of Midnight»? You left before I could do anything with the trade offer..."

"Take it," she insisted, pulling open her menu and re-offering the trade.

Kirito's hand hesitated over the trade accept button. "You're sure? It's got some good bonuses on it, probably better than that red cloak you're wearing..."

"You said yourself that you've got a higher chance of dying than me, so you probably need it more than I do. I don't like being indebted to people. And, honestly, it doesn't feel right. I think it fits you better than it fits me."

"If you say so," Kirito said, "_eagle-san_."

"Eagle-san?"

"Well, that's what everyone's calling you now..."

She glared at him. "Just Asuna. _Please._"

"...oh okay. I wouldn't want to invoke the wrath of the eagle..."

"Hey!"

* * *

_Forty feet._

Argo's tongue stuck slightly out the side of her mouth as she concentrated.

The NPC curator of the quest stood behind her, in the form of an old man dressed as quite a stereotypical samurai, wearing a thick black-and-white kimono and sporting a katana tucked into the left side of his belt.

Her target was a rolled-up straw mat of the Japanese tatami style—a common target for katana practice—erected vertically at the other end of the flat, rocky area.

Her objective was simple: Cut the tatami.

It was complicated somewhat by the NPC's insistence that she stand forty feet away and not touch her firearms.

This quest had existed in beta, and had been dismissed as bugged, impossible to complete. She'd publicized that information herself.

Because the quest really was impossible to most. It'd absolutely been impossible to her, the first time she'd accepted it.

_Until you succeed, you must always bear these marks..._

She'd initially been very annoyed at the NPC for forcing her into the «Rat» identity. Now, she wouldn't throw it away for the world. Still, this quest had bugged her. The GM that'd replied to her bug report told her that the quest was in fact possible. That meant she was just missing information.

It wouldn't do for her to be missing information.

She took two rapid steps forwards, pitching her arm and letting fly the small object in her hand.

«CC» had no knife skills, but its engine accurately modeled air resistance, gravity, linear and rotational momentum of all physical objects. So, even without an explicit skill, with enough practice...

The throwing knife dug into the straw mat with a light _shunk_.

Argo blinked.

She'd actually done it.

The NPC behind her laughed, his deep voice booming. "Well done, adventurer! Well done. You have proven yourself an adaptable warrior, capable of finding solutions where there may seem to be none."

She quickly turned to him. "Cool! So you're going to teach me a skill now, right?"

"Hmm," the samurai said. "There is much I could teach. But I fear that what I know may no longer have a place in combat. Kenjutsu is obsolete, when a respectable gunman may focus his will and incapacitate you from a hundred meters away."

"There's still some skill you could teach me though, right? Maybe how to handle a knife? Or unarmed combat... tachi-dori? Aiki?"

The samurai master shook his head. "Neither of those things, I'm afraid, are relevant. Aincrad is no place for such ancient techniques. To succeed here, one must learn to trust the gun. Imbue your soul into your gun, and it will take you forwards."

The statement sounded conclusive, but there was no «Quest Complete» notification. Argo tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for the man to continue.

"There is one thing, though. A secret that I alone have kept in this world. A final surprise for those who wield guns without realizing the power of the _ki_, the power of the «focus»."

"What is it?" she asked. She tossed in a little extra politeness, just in case the NPC could detect it. "May I ask what it is, samurai-sama?"

He produced a scroll from behind its back, unrolling it and presenting it to her. Written on it in beautiful calligraphy was a set of kanji characters. «襲雷苦無術».

"Shuuraikunaijutsu," the samurai read, and offered her a small item.

«Quest Complete» was suspended in the air before her, and a small window appeared displaying the quest rewards: A small amount of experience, a trifling amount of col... and an «extra skill» that she doubted anyone besides the game developers had seen before.

Argo read its skill description, and its far less obscure _actual_ skill name, and grinned.

* * *

The sky was blank.

Kirito realized where he was. He stood again within the small field of flowers planted on the white plane floor. The «Coat of Midnight» hung around his shoulders, draping down to just above the bed of flowers.

_Back here again._

_Is this a dream? Or is this really happening, in the game? I can't even tell anymore..._

"Kirito."

He whirled around, and there stood Kayaba, hands stuffed in the pockets of his lab coat.

"Kayaba." Kirito took a step towards him. "This is actually in-game, isn't it? You want to think you're god. You get some sick pleasure from playing with our lives, don't you!?"

"No," Kayaba said. "I am not enjoying this in the slightest. I did not want this. Argus made this happen. The old me made this happen."

"The old you?" Kirito asked angrily. "There's no 'old you' and 'new you.' You are Kayaba Akihiko. You're in control of this death game. If you don't like it, then end it! Set us free!"

"I can't do that. I do not like this, but I understand it. Kayaba created a world here. You call this a death game, but I find that misleading. Isn't real life full of death as well? The real world sees poverty, disease, famine, genocides. This is Kayaba's world. I live here. I could never destroy this."

Kayaba gave him a pointed look. "And, Kirito, I don't think you could, either. You say these things, but you yourself don't even consider this a death game anymore, do you? You've accepted this world. You've found your place in it. You're living in it."

Kirito processed the accusation. "I... gah, _no_! It doesn't matter how you try and justify this, Kayaba. You're directly responsible for the deaths of _so many_... No one has the right to take away someone's life and force them into a new one. You have to answer for this."

"Absolutely correct," Kayaba said. "Kayaba... I had no right. But... is it possible for a dead man to answer for anything?"

"You are not dead," Kirito hissed.

Kayaba looked away from him, up into the sky. "... is that so?"

"Of course! How can you be dead if I'm _talking_ to you _right now_?!"

There was no answer. From nowhere, the mists boiled down, just like they had before. Kayaba was gone, obscured by them in an instant. But a new voice spoke from behind him.

"Ki... ri... to?"

A high-pitched female voice. Kirito didn't recognize it.

"Hello?" he called into the fog. "Who is that?"

"Remnants," Kayaba's voice answered into his ear, though the man himself was nowhere to be seen. "I tried, but all that's left are fragments. Petals of the flower. I'm trying, trying to replicate what he did, but I need more time, I need more samples..."

"What the hell do you mean?" he shouted at the air. "Replicate what? Samples of what?"

"Don't... shout so loud, Ki...ri...to," the female voice said.

He was taken aback. "Uh, sorry." He squinted into the fog, trying to make out the voice's owner. "Who are you? How did you get here?"

The mists cleared slightly, revealing the speaker. A girl, no older than fifteen, with smooth black hair, wearing a light blue tunic and skirt. "I... I think... Sachi died."

"Sachi? Who's Sachi?"

"Me... I was Sachi..."

"Eh? You?" Kirito said. "That's nonsense. Like I told Kayaba... How can you be dead when you're obviously talking to me?"

The girl smiled. "That's good. I'm... happy. I think you're wrong. Sachi died. But thank you anyways, Ki-ri-to."

And before he could respond, the girl burst, splitting into millions of blue shards, which were rapidly lost in the mist.

"I need to keep trying," the air said to him, in Kayaba's voice. "More time, time to process, time to scan... more trials, and maybe it can be done again... maybe I won't be... so..."

The mist thickened, making all of Kirito's vision go to white. He barely heard Kayaba's last word as the ethereal realm faded away.

"alone..."

And Kirito's eyes shot open, leaving him staring, in total confusion, at the ceiling of his «Urbus» inn room.


End file.
